Fate: ZeroNight
by C.O.Y.L
Summary: A Hero's luck is a fickle thing, some might even call it Fate. It can save you from a fire where hundreds die, but it can also give you a reason to keep being a hero. Even if that means traveling back in time to prevent that fire from happening in the first place. "Okay seriously. When am I?" Prologue revised!
1. Prologue: Revision

**Disclaimer: …**

**Lawyer Tom: Say it.**

**I don't want to.**

**Lawyer Tom: Say it or you get sued.**

**I don't have anything to get sued!**

**Lawyer Tom: Wanna bet?**

…**I own nothing. Except-**

**Lawyer Tom: Except what? You own nothing remember?**

**I own the ORIGNAL characters that appear here.**

**Lawyer Tom: …Fine.**

**Hey guys. Looking back at the prologue, I realized… Well. It sucks. So I decided to rectify that. Since it's nothing but one giant fight against Gilgamesh. I decided to just rewrite it. It's easy enough.**

**But keep in mind. I might rewrite the first six chapters after this as well if I decide to do it. But don't worry. They will be done in my own time, and won't interrupt my regular update schedule.**

**Lawyer Tom: Pshh. What regular update schedule? You update when you want to you lazy bastard.**

**I didn't hire you to harass me!**

**Lawyer Tom: You didn't hire me at all. I'm just a figment of your imagination that is designed as a means to release comedy. Which you suck at.**

…**Just shut up.**

**Lawyer Tom: And what if I don't want t-**

**On with the prologue!**

**XxX**

In this World; in his World. There was no end. There was no horizon. There was nothing. And yet, it was always everything.

He breathed in as he felt his World empower him. Never mind the powerful being standing fifteen meters in front of him. His World was enough to end that being, no. He could afford to ignore him for now. His World was here, it would protect him, and it would empower him.

In his left hand, the black Chinese sword Kanshou appeared. It's blade as black as night as it seemed to drink in the twilight of his World. Making it sleeker and darker. The hexagonal designs on it seemed to sharpen.

In his right hand, Kanshou's counterpart, Bakuya appeared. It's blade the antithesis of its partner. White as snow, and cleared than anything he had seen before.

Both swords were different, and yet, exactly the same. They were not powerful; they were not as beautiful as the other swords in his World. But they were enough for now.

He opened his eyes, and stared at the King in front of him with as much enmity as he could muster.

"A Reality Marble?" He heard him say, he could see him looking around in disbelief at what he was seeing. The weapons floating behind him glowing as the twilight hit them.

"In this World," He spoke, and it garnered the chaotic King's attention. "Everything exists, yet nothing exists."

"In this World, a World of imitations, there is no end, yet it is right there." He further explained as he started walking forward. The weapons behind him rising into the air as each step he took was like a command.

"Yet, there is no rule that an imitation cannot defeat the original." He stopped, ten meters away from the King in front of him. He could see the disbelief in his face as he looked up, into the impossibly large number of weapons now floating into the air and were pointed at him.

"So come; King of Heroes," He narrowed his eyes as he raised Kanshou into the air. It's dark blade drinking in whatever light it could. "Do you have enough blades in your treasury to defeat my World?"

"You mongrel!" He shouted as he raised his own hand. And as he did, more weapons appeared. Each one as beautiful in not even more so than the last one. They spanned his entire sight range, and he was impressed at the sheer number of them.

Each weapon that appeared was immediately recorded and joined the weapons he had in the air.

"I will show you what the real thing feels like!" He shouted. "Despair as you gaze upon unmatched power!" He dropped his hand, and the weapons flew. All were aimed at him, yet, he wasn't afraid.

He dropped Kanshou, and the weapons in the air flew forward.

In this World; in his World. A World with no end, a World with no horizon. A World where nothing existed, yet everything existed.

In his World. Imitation clashed with original, a Faker faced a King. Hundreds if not thousands of swords that are identical clashed with each other, fought for power, and fought for the right to exist.

And the imitations would win, the Faker would defeat the King, and the thousands of imitations would destroy the originals. There was no other way. This was his only Way.

His Unlimited Blade Works.

**XxX**

He closed in, never minding the incoming swords that would pierce him. He charged forward, ready to strike down the chaotic King that was in his World.

He saw a scythe coming towards him, a scythe made of silver and would wound him greatly should it strike him. He saw it coming, he saw it going towards the spot where he would be in a second should he keep running. Yet, he didn't stop. He only continued forward. As he knew that the scythe wouldn't hit him at all.

He stepped forward again, and the scythe was upon him, right in front of his face, ready to slice his head as it would hit him.

It never reached him.

An identical scythe, the same scythe made of silver with the black rod that attached the blade with a body appeared and blocked it. Sparks flew right in front of him, but he didn't care. He charged forward, brushing past the fighting imitation and original. He heard them both shatter, but he didn't care. His scythe was still there, but he knew that his enemy's was destroyed.

"You plebeian!" He heard his opponent shout, his golden hair swaying as he drew two swords from behind him and charged forward. Intent on meeting him in the middle. "You dare destroy my treasures! Death will be too good for you!"

They were five meters away from each other. So he raised Bakuya into the air, and promptly threw it at his opponent.

He saw his enemy's eyes widen, at seeing the white sword coming at his face, but managed to dodge them as he tilted his head to the side. The white sword managing to slice some hair from his head as it passed him.

But he wasn't done, he knew that it was only a momentary pause, and that the next second, the powerful golden being would refocus on him and charge at him once more. So without much thought, he strengthened the black sword in his left hand.

Strengthening. One magecraft that he knew how to do without much trouble. True to point, it strengthened, but it didn't just make a sword sharper, nor a rock harder. It did much more than that. It strengthened the entire object, what it does, and what it should do. A light bulb would brighten, a computer would work faster, a blowtorch; hotter.

And with Kanshou, magnetize it exponentially.

He saw his enemy refocus on him, he saw him open his mouth, probably ready to insult him again as he readied to charge at him again.

The golden king never got to say anything.

Bakuya came flying back towards him, and it sliced its way past Gilgamesh's right ear. Earning a gasp of pain from the King of Heroes. He raised his right hand and caught the white sword, and continued his charge.

He was upon the still recovering Gilgamesh not two seconds later.

He raised both swords above his head, and threw them down at the King in front of him.

If this were any other opponent, this would have been the final attack. The ending strike where the hero slew their enemy. The finishing blow that would save the World.

But the King of Heroes wasn't just any other opponent.

In a swift move that reminded him that he was facing a Servant, the King of Heroes raised the two swords in his hands and blocked the swords that were coming to kill him. Sparks flew from where the four swords met, and the ground beneath the King of Heroes seemed to disperse slightly, due to the fact that his own strike had enough strength to put most strongmen to shame.

"I am not defeated so easily!" He heard his enemy shout, before he was promptly kicked in the stomach and forced back. The kick wasn't enough to injure him, but it was enough to disengage the swords that were clashing against each other.

Twisting his body, he landed as gracefully as he could, both swords at the ready should he be retaliated against. He raised his head, and was met with a sword to the face.

CLANG!

Sparks flew, and he thanked Rin for the umpteenth time that day.

His World was doing work; it was defending him, preventing any flying sword from reaching him at all. He straightened himself as he stared at the sword that embedded itself in front of him as a result of suddenly appearing right above him and flying forward to defend him from his enemies own.

"Tch." He raised his head, and saw his enemy with a deep scowl on his face. The treasures in his open treasury still hanging up in the air, all ready to fly at him at just a word. "This World is troublesome." Was all he said before he charged, the treasures behind him following him.

He didn't say anything; he only met his enemies charge with his own. The weapons in his World coming with him to intercept his enemy's treasures.

Again, Faker met King. Imitation met original. And again, the originals were steadily destroyed, the King growing weaker as the Faker and his imitations continued their unrelenting siege.

**XxX**

"Damn it!" He dodged to the left, managing to dodge Gilgamesh's sword that would have sliced his head into two. He countered with a slice to his own left with Bakuya. But his opponent managed to block it with his own sword in his right hand.

"Damn it!" Again, he heard his opponent shout. He blocked the incoming sword from his opponent with Kanshou, he cringed slightly at the strength behind it, but managed to push the sword away before he let go of Bakuya, immediately making his opponent off balance as the pressure coming from Bakuya disappeared. He saw Gilgamesh shift to the right slightly, and opted to just hit him with whatever.

As Bakuya hit the ground, another sword appeared in his hand, this one. A brilliant short sword that was wielded by a Roman legionnaire as he fought rioters, killing his countrymen in order to defend his emperor. He thrust it forward, intent on stabbing him.

His opponent saw it coming, and managed to just twist his body enough so that it grazed past his clothes. He would have continued, if the blood coming from his enemies missing ear hadn't splattered across his eyes.

He barely managed to roll out of the way as Gilgamesh's other sword impacted on the ground where he had just come from.

He straightened himself as he began to furiously wipe away the blood from his eyes. "Be honored." He heard his opponent growl out as he finally managed to wipe away enough to see. "The blood of the King is now on you. Now, I shall take your payment in blood!"

And the cycle continued. He charged towards his opponent, and his opponent met his charge in the middle. Sparks flew as their swords met, and the ground shook as they struck against each other. The air reverberated with explosions as treasures met with imitations.

He mentally cursed as he felt his power waning. This World was on a battery, a battery that was called Rin Tohsaka. And he could feel her Prana getting exceptionally weaker. He didn't know when it would run out, but hopefully, it will last long enough for him to defeat this false King.

Twisting his body to the right, he struck again, Bakuya now back in his right hand as he thrust it forward. Only for it to be blocked by another sword from Gilgamesh. The same one he had been using for awhile.

He continued to push Bakuya forward, trying his damnest to overpower his opponent, he didn't have the luxury of time. He needed to beat his opponent now. He could literally feel his Prana disappearing, and he could feel the grasp he had on his World loosening.

He pushed, and when that was not enough. He pushed even more, and then even more. And through it all, he wondered if he would ever push past his opponent. Could his swords really beat his opponent? Could he ever really beat him? Could an imitation defeat the original?

And as soon as each thought entered his mind, he immediately crushed it.

_Go, you can beat him._

He had heard him say, and the more he was in his World. The more he believed it.

_Beat him._

He pushed, even more, and then even more. And when he reached his limit, he pushed past that and forced even more force into his pushing. And soon, his pushing finally yielded results.

A crack, both from Bakuya and his opponent's sword. A crack began to form on the point where both their weapons met.

_Beat him._

"Damn it!" He heard his opponent curse, but he didn't care. He kept pushing. He didn't yield, he didn't stop. He continued on.

The crack grew in size, and soon, the entire blade of Bakuya were riddled with cracks that vaguely resembled a spider's web. His opponent's sword didn't fare any better, it had the same cracks, and it looked ready to break soon.

_Beat him._

With a mighty crash that sounded like glass breaking. Both swords gave out. His opponent surprised at seeing it happen in his hands. He probably thought that the weapons breaking in the air were his imitations, and not his treasures.

He didn't give it any more thought, as he recalled back Bakuya. It instantly appeared in his hand again, and he thrust it forward. But again, he was reminded that his opponent wasn't a human, but a spirit that represented a powerful being from the past.

Gilgamesh blocked Bakuya with his other sword, the one he held in his left hand, and again sparks flew.

_Beat him._

"This is impossible!" He heard his opponent shout as he struggled under the weight of Bakuya. Deciding that this would be a good chance, he raised Kanshou and brought it down. His opponent buckled under the added weight, and was soon brought to his knees. His hands held the sword that was struggling under both Kanshou and Bakuya's weights.

"How! How can a mere imitation, a Faker, defeat me?!" He shouted, his tone more annoyed than anything. His response was to continue pushing forward.

Words didn't have weight here, they would never see eye to eye. His opponent would see the end of the World happen so he could rule. He desired to save the World from that Fate. And so he would fight him, and his opponent would fight him.

A momentary flash made him stop pushing as he gazed at his left shoulder. He could see that the circuits that Rin had given him began fading. Their deep blue color fading into his skin.

His momentary lapse in pushing was enough for his opponent to push him back. He rolled on the ground as his opponent managed to jump away from him.

"To think my greatest treasure will be desecrated by being used on you!" He heard his opponent shout, and almost immediately began to pull out a sword from his treasury.

"Ghk!" He groaned as he gazed at it. But he managed to push himself from the ground and run straight at his opponent. His legs burning as he poured as much Prana as he could into them.

"Like hell I'd let you!" They were fifteen meters apart, and he had crossed that distance in the span of two seconds. He was amazed at the speed, and the burning of his legs only told him that he had pushed too much Prana into them. But he ignored the pain all together.

_Beat him._

He raised Kanshou and brought it down on his opponent's arm. Letting it fly off in a burst of blood, eliciting a shocked gasp from his enemy.

His enemy didn't waste anytime and backpedaled towards where his arm landed. He followed suit, he wouldn't let him rest, and he would beat now. Before he could use it.

He was upon his opponent once more, both Kanshou and Bakuya raised above his head and prepared to strike down his opponent.

_Beat him!_

He brought both swords down, and he was about to succeed. He would succeed in defeating the oldest King in history, in beating the heroic spirit that Saber had so much trouble beating herself.

A black blob stopped him. A blob that entered the wound that he gave his opponent.

"What?" He heard his opponent mutter as he stared at his arm, and he too, stopped his strike as he stared at it. For a few seconds, there was nothing but silence. That was until a sudden suction came from his opponent's arm as the black blob expanded in size.

The blob sucked up everything, his World, his opponent's arm that held that impossible weapon, his opponent's open treasury, everything. All in the span of three seconds. His thoughts likened the blob to a black hole, the ones that sucked in the impossibly large suns in a matter of seconds.

His thoughts were interrupted as he felt himself get pulled in as well, he felt his feet dig into the ground, but even then, that wasn't enough. He could feel himself stretching as his arms began to circle, they began to circle the black blob like it was a tornado. The same could be said for his opponent, he could hear him curse as his body broke down and spun into the blob.

Soon enough, he felt himself taking off from the ground, and into the blob. Followed closely by his opponent.

And almost as soon as the blob appeared, it disappeared just as fast. The clearing of the Ryuudou temple that had been littered with blades meeting blades, craters caused by impossible treasures hitting the ground. Soon, that battleground became silent. Leaving only the silent winds that ignored the scarred ground.

**XxX**

**And that's it. Tell me if I improved whatsoever, or if you're a new reader. Tell me if you think it's good. I may rewrite the next five chapters if I find the time. But as of right now, only the prologue is done.**


	2. When am I?

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

**XxX**

"Okay, would you mind telling me what we're doing here?" Aoko Aozaki's tired voice resounded as she stretched and yawned. Her light brown hair swaying in the wind as she looked around the rather inconspicuous Japanese temple.

She thought back to why she had agreed to come here with her tutor, but then she remembered that she didn't really have a say in the matter. Not unless she wanted to go against the wishes of the insane man that was her tutor that is.

She let out a slight shiver as that particular thought rushed through her mind. No, that was not the sanest things to do.

By her side, she could hear her teacher let out a deep chuckle. His deep voice echoed around the open field of the temple. A laugh that was filled with mirth, a laugh that seemed to show the owners rather complex personality.

A laugh that she didn't like hearing in the slightest.

She turned towards her teacher, glaring at the older gentleman like he was insane. And truthfully, that wasn't far off the mark.

Her tutor turned towards her as she glared at him, and he could only let out a small smile at his student's glare. "Come now Miss Blue, is this really the time to be mad at me?" He said with a voice that seemed to echo around the open space. How he managed that was forever lost to Aoko.

Aoko scowled as she heard her rather annoying nickname. "I would say yes. You know the next Heaven's feel is happening in two years, and you being here could set alarm bells ringing for the chosen Masters." Aoko explained, her voice tired and resigned.

She should be used to this. Her tutor's rather strange personality made him completely unpredictable. She thought back to the time when they were just mindlessly walking down the street, when her tutor had the brilliant idea of sending them both to another world filled with walking hamburger monsters.

She didn't look at hamburgers in the same light ever again.

She shook her head away from that particular memory now wasn't the time of thinking of giant hamburger monsters filled with horse radish. Now was the time for asking why the hell were they in Fuyuki city at 2:32 am. Why they were in Ryuudou temple of all places, and why the heck this couldn't wait until the morning.

She opened her mouth to speak, but she cut herself off as she felt a familiar spark of magic suddenly course through her body.

'_No…'_

She twisted her head so fast that it could have been mistaken that it was broken. She stared forwards, towards the place where she felt the sudden spike of familiar magic.

She waited for it to happen again, even though she was desperately wishing that it didn't happen at all.

She relaxed as she didn't feel it happen again; maybe it was just her imagination? Yeah, that probably was it. After all, her particular magic wasn't something that could easily be repro-

She felt it happen again, and this time, she knew it really did happen.

She turned towards her teacher, unsure of what she was supposed to do.

But her teacher was just quietly staring at the center of the open field, quietly observing for anything to happen. She opened her mouth to ask the question that was on the tip of her tongue, but her teacher merely shook his head. His rugged face and grey hair swaying.

Without much else to do, Aoko turned back to staring at the center of the open field, quietly waiting and observing for anything to happen.

She didn't have to wait long however, as a sudden black orb suddenly appeared in the middle of the field. A black orb that seemed to suck in the little light that shimmered in the night.

She grew tense, unsure of what that orb was there for, she felt her prana course through her circuits, ready to fight. Or, if worse comes to worse, to run.

She waited, waited for anything to happen. When it became apparent that the orb wasn't doing anything too dangerous, she allowed herself to relax. Straightening herself before she turned towards her tutor.

She noted that her tutor was just blankly staring at the orb, an unreadable expression on his face. A face that she wasn't so familiar with. After all, she saw him smile, she saw him frown, she saw him laugh, and she saw him smirk. But for all the expressions she saw, she never saw this one on her tutor.

He was serious.

It was such an alien concept to her that she couldn't help but ponder on it, unsure on how she should react to his rather strained face. A face that almost never got this serious.

She was so deep in her thoughts that she didn't notice something eject from the black orb at breakneck speeds, an object that was heading straight at her.

With a loud 'Oof!' She fell back as the object hit her body and covered her own. She closed her eyes in pain as she felt her back hit the ground, letting out an involuntary breath as she did so. Whatever this object was, it was heavy and extremely hot. As if it was burning. But the burning didn't hurt her, instead, the burning felt internal, something that she was accustomed to whenever she tried to use her magic in excess.

She let out a groan of pain as her hands felt around the object that was on her. She could feel it moving as her hands brushed against cloth. Cloth that seemed to be torn and stretched and so grimy that it felt like it was a dirty rag on her hands. And as her hands moved upwards, she felt something that only humans had.

She felt skin.

But that wasn't what surprised her, no, what surprised her was that the skin was hot. Burning even, perhaps whoever this person was had used too much magic? It certainly felt like his circuits were burning.

She opened one eye, only to see a head full of hair in her eyesight. And that sent warning bells sounding in her mind. She had red hair whenever she used her magic, whoever this person was, could he be her descendant?

Wait a minute, he?

Yes, this person was a he, his body was too large to be from a woman's, his shoulders too broad, and his hair too short. This person was most definitely male.

It was after she came to this conclusion that her tutor finally made himself known. Letting out a small chuckle, he spoke, his voice still mysteriously echoing around the open space.

"It seems I was right, this _is_ one of those worlds." He said as he let out a chuckle.

Aoko wasn't laughing however, as she just growled. "That's nice and all Zelretch," Her voice was low as she tried to push against the body on top of her, but whatever this guy was, he was as heavy as led. "But would you mind getting this guy off me?!" She shouted, un-amused at having some stranger that could possibly be her great-great-great-grandson on top of her.

Her tutor's only response was letting out another chuckle.

**Fate: Zero/Night**

**XxX**

His body was on fire.

No, that wasn't right. It wasn't just his body that was on fire, everything else was on fire as well.

He felt his soot covered face grow hot as he twisted his head left and right, carefully taking in the sight around him. The burning buildings, the burning cars, the dead bodies, the destroyed roads. This was a familiar scene for him, after all, this was where he had been born, when he decided to discard everything that made him human just to survive.

He could feel his body steel itself as he moved.

He didn't bother stopping to help. If he stopped, he would die, just like the others. As his body moved past the burning bodies, as his feet stepped on the still alive bodies that gave up, as his sight tunneled towards even more fire. He felt nothing.

He could only move forward, he couldn't stop. Lest he die like the rest.

He could hear the multiple agonizing screams of people wanting to be saved, he could hear their pleas for help, he could hear them curse and shout at him for ignoring them.

But he didn't feel them, no, even if he could hear them, he did not feel anything for them. The only thing he could feel right now was his adrenaline in his body, carefully pushing him to keep moving, for if he stopped, he knew he would die.

But, just like the people that he ignored, just like the people that he left behind, he soon lost his own strength, and he promptly fell on the soot laden ground. The sound of the fire burning the people around him ringing in his ears.

And as he lay there, broken and battered, unable to comprehend what was happening, he felt wetness on his cheek.

The pure surprise refused to show on his face as he felt his face get wetter and wetter, the heaven's opening as if it were crying. The fire around him hissing as it begun to die from the tears that came from the heavens. The people's cries for help seemed to grow weaker as the tears fell faster and faster.

Soon, the world around him that was filled with the cries of men and women asking him for help, the world that was filled with the sound of burning flesh, burning houses, burning everything. Soon, it was lost and replaced with the soft pitter-patter of the rain steadily letting its tears wash out the fire.

And as he lay in the middle of it all, he could only stare up blankly, unable to look away as he felt the rain wash over him, was away the last vestiges of who he once was.

He had done it, he had survived through that hell, and he survived it by casting away his humanity, casting away his values to live. He cast away all he knew about right and wrong, all he knew about being nice and helping, and all he knew about never ignoring a cry for help.

He cast them all away, and what remained was nothing but an empty shell of a child that had stared at the hell and lost his humanity.

But as he felt his consciousness slipping away, he felt something shift alongside him. He felt a shadow loom over his prone form, guarding him against the falling rain. And with great effort, he refocused his dying vision once more.

And what he saw – the person he saw – the bright smile on his face as he stared down on his prone body, words couldn't describe the thing he saw as he stared at the man.

He wasn't happy, he wasn't ecstatic, and he wasn't elated. He was only smiling; an indescribable feeling of happiness on his face. No, happiness did not give the feeling the man was feeling.

Whatever the man was feeling, he knew right then and there. He was still human, he still had his humanity, and he still had a dream.

And his dream was to experience the euphoria this man felt as he stared down at his broken and almost dead body.

**XxX**

Shirou Emiya had been born in fire. His previous life burned away as he continued to live his life as the person he was today, the Shirou Emiya of now.

Shirou Emiya was a warrior that had been born through flames and raised through steel. So the moment he felt his consciousness returning, the first thing he did was assess the situation with his eyes closed.

He was on something soft, almost like a western bed. He could smell food, western food that was still warm as if it had just been taken out of the oven. He could hear people talking; two of them, both were talking in English, a language he wasn't particularly good at, even though he had an English teacher for a guardian.

But these three things didn't set him on edge. What set him on edge, was the feeling of a soft hand carefully moving up and down his body, almost as if whoever owned the hand couldn't get their hands off him.

Let it be known that Shirou Emiya did not like waking up being felt up after he had just fought for his life.

He grabbed the hand abruptly, before he traced multiple weapons behind him. The sudden shout of "Wha-?!" Did not deter him in the slightest. What did shock him however, was who the hand belonged too.

It was a woman, maybe two to three years younger then he; her burning red hair seemed to glow ephemerally at the sudden movement. Shirou could feel his circuits burning at the sudden need to trace, but he couldn't show weakness. He only stared straight at her, looking in her deep crimson eyes that were filled with shock and surprise at the sudden grab.

"Who you?" He said in the barest of English he could. He knew that he probably butchered that sentence, but this was not the time to be so picky about it. He was in unknown territory, he was in the company of two mages that had taken him after his battle with Gilgamesh, and he didn't know just where the hell he was.

His train of thought stopped however, as he thought back on one particular event that had supposedly happened.

He grit his teeth as he stared down at the woman in front of him, his golden eyes filled with fury and impatience as he retracted his question and asked a new one. "Where is Gilgamesh?"

His voice sounded harsher, but he knew that the sentence was correct, he couldn't afford to let something get lost in translation, he needed to know what happened to Gilgamesh, and he would be damned if he was still walking around right now.

"Wait what? What the hell are you talking about you crazy psycho! Let go of my arm!" She shouted in English. Shirou did not have time for this, so he projected even more weapons behind him, turning the three halberds into ten swords, seven spears, and eight halberds.

This seemed to be enough for the girl to suddenly stop, her eyes wide in disbelief and fear at having multiple Noble Phantasms pointed at her.

At least, that was what he believed, but a sudden hand on his shoulder, a hand that for all intents and purposes, felt like it had been there for the entirety of the situation made him rethink his position.

"I bet you're thinking Miss Blue over here is 'Scared of the Noble Phantasms that I have pointed at her.' Aren't you?" The voice spoke in perfect Japanese. And though he had heard Gilgamesh's voice, a voice filled with willful arrogance that is backed up by immense power. And though he had heard Archer's voice, a voice that seemed to condescending yet so filled with unknown power. And though he had heard Saber's voice, a voice filled with untapped honor and was for all intents and purposes kingly. Those voices he heard were filled with a confidence that could be backed up by each of their powers.

But even then, those voices paled to this man's voice.

He twisted his body and traced even more low level phantasms, sending them all crashing down on the floor right next to the bed where he felt the hand retract into.

He hit nothing but the carpeted floor and the concrete wall.

He cursed as he turned around once more, intent on looking for the owner of that second voice. But when he turned, he remembered that there weren't only two people in the room. There were three.

Her eyes shining crimson, her prana flooding her circuits, her very visage was one that screamed of pure power. It wasn't like Gilgamesh's aura, that one reeked of arrogance and unhidden power. This girl's aura was very much different. Her aura reeked of power. That was the only thing he could describe as he stared at smelt the girl in front of him. Her entire visage screamed of power, from her stoic face, to her flowing red hair. She was a being of pure power, an absolute in this world, a world filled with magic. He would lose if he decided to fight against her right now. And even though he could feel his prana unconsciously circulating around his body, he didn't have the power to actively fight long enough to be a threat. He could also die if he tried to use Unlimited Blade Works right now.

So all in all, Shirou was screwed.

But thankfully, he wasn't so unlucky that he would die barely an thirty minutes after waking up. The man's voice from before, his voice filled with confidence that was unrivalled, a voice that seemed so regal yet so plain. The man laughed.

Shirou was conflicted. He didn't know what to feel about that, he knew that whoever owned that voice was powerful, but could he sense his prana circulating his body? If so, did he think of lowly of him that he didn't even think of him as a threat? Or did he find something genuinely amusing at his circumstance?

"A little bit of both actually." He answered as if reading his mind. He searched for the owner again, and this time, he saw him.

The man was standing right behind the red haired woman; his old visage seemed to quell the angry squall right in front of him as the woman suddenly calmed enough, her hair steadily returning towards the sides of her head.

The older man, or rather, gentleman, as he was dressed almost like royalty, had a face so rugged that you could mistake him for a war veteran that always kept a five 'o clock shadow. But that wasn't all that was on his face. His grey hair that fit squarely on his face seemed so oily that it looked like he didn't wash it, at least, not regularly. Shirou didn't know what to make of it.

Also on his face were multiple scars that had faded through the years, at least, that were what Shirou could guess. His scars were barely visible through all that hair, and his wrinkles made it even more difficult to see them.

His black suit and cloak covered his body; a wooden cane on his right hand supported him as he stared at Shirou. But the cane didn't fool him in the least. The man was strong enough to support himself just fine without a cane. He eyed the cane, carefully eyeing it and taking in its features.

He wished he hadn't.

He clutched his head in pain as he recoiled at the sudden rush of information flood into his mind.

_Illya a magical girl… The Moon-cell with over 128 contestants… Shirou Kotomine… His wife was a woman named Lorelei… He was called Archer fighting against a criminal organization… Kiritsugu fighting as Assassin in the Grail War… Alien Harem… God killer…_

Those were some of the things he saw as he tried to fix his mind. Those thoughts weren't something you would get from structurally grasping a wooden cane.

That thing was not normal, the man who held it even more so.

"Who… You?" He repeated his question from before, his voice hoarse as he was still regaining his balance from the impromptu headache that came from that cane. And though his head was still throbbing, he could faintly make out the man's laughter. A laugh that was filled with mirth and amusement.

"Oh? Do you not recognize me Hikari Yuuki? I am Zelretch! Your grandfather!" His explanation only made his head throb even more. He cringed as he felt a wave of fresh information invade his mind.

_He was Hikari Yuuki… He wasn't in the Fuyuki Fire… He is a first generation magus… He single handedly changed the way Mages worked… He was an amazing magus, he was progress personified…_

"Gah!" Shirou keeled over as more and more information flooded his brain. This was too much! He couldn't take it! He needed something, anything to keep his mind off of these thoughts!

He retreated to his inner world, his blade works. The world that is filled with swords, with spears, with halberds, with shields, with an unending number of treasures.

He felt at peace as he saw each and every sword, the thoughts of the strange cane however, brought the offending piece of woodwork right in front of him in his world.

He resisted the urge to involuntarily grasp it once more, instead, focusing on the thought that it was a 'sword'.

It was strange, he felt its resonance, he felt it call out to him. But it didn't look anything remotely like a sword, it was a cane. Yet for some strange reason, he felt that it _was_ a sword. But not only a sword, it was a spear, a wand, a halberd, a bola. It was everything, yet at the same time, it was only a cane.

He was snapped out of his thoughts and pulled out of his inner world as he felt a hand on his shoulder once more.

He looked up, looking in the older gentleman's eyes. Eyes that were filled with a strangeness that he couldn't quite place.

"Hmm, you aren't Hikari? Most interesting," The man said as he pulled his hand back. Shirou watched in fascination as a book suddenly materialized in the man's hand without so much as an incantation. The older man started shifting through the book, muttering words that were lost to Shirou as he could not hear them. The only thing he could make out was 'Red hair, Noble Phantasms, and golden eyes.'

He waited as the man continued shifting through the pages of his book, unsure of what to make of the strange sight in front of him. He heard a sigh coming from behind the man, and he turned towards the one that sighed.

It was still the same girl, Shirou knew that. The only difference this time was her hair wasn't crimson red anymore, instead, her hair was now a chestnut brown. Her red eyes were filled with exasperation as she stared at the older gentleman.

"Damn it Zelretch, this isn't the time-" She muttered in English, cutting herself off as she grumbled inaudibly. And though Shirou couldn't very much understand her words, he knew that she was very annoyed.

After all, she looked just like Rin whenever she thought something was annoying, or rather, someone was annoying. More then likely him.

…

…

…

Wait, Rin!

He suddenly stood straight up, forgoing asking question until he was sure she was safe. But before he could start bolting for the door however, the older gentleman's shout of 'Aha!' suddenly made him stop in his tracks.

"Shirou Emiya! That's who you are!" The man said in clear Japanese. This made him stop dead in his tracks, as well as made the girl stop muttering inaudibly.

He carefully turned around, staring at the older man in shock and complete confusion. Just who was this guy?

Before he could voice out his question however, the girl seemed to be having her own panic attack.

"Waitwaitwaitwait!" She muttered so fast that it sounded like one word to Shirou. "Emiya? As in _THAT _Emiya? As in the Magus Killer Emiya?!" Her voice was frantic now as she began to edge away from Shirou.

Though this only served to confuse him even more. Not due to the lack of understanding her mind you, but from her reaction from hearing the word Emiya and her saying of the word 'Magus Killer.'

He wasn't a Magus Killer, the most he did was stab a Servant with a sword. Granted, that particular Servant had been a Magus, but it didn't warrant the nickname Magus Killer.

And just how the hell did they know about that anyway? Wasn't the Grail War so sacred that it was kept secret?

All his thoughts derailed however as the older man was suddenly in front of him, his face mere inches from his own, carefully scrutinizing something that was lost to himself.

"Uhh…" He said lamely, unsure of how to react to the sudden closeness.

"Hmm, no, you most definitely aren't from the Heaven's Feel route," The older man muttered. "Your arm would have been wrapped in a shroud. No, your route most definitely came from either the Fate one or the Blade one." The man continued, switching from English and Japanese every few seconds, making Shirou wonder how he spoke two languages and switching them in between words.

Really, just who was this guy?

"Judging from the number of Noble Phantasms you Traced, you most definitely fit the Blade works route Shirou. Yes, I believe you came from the future where you fought Archer and Gilgamesh, putting your belief on the line. The false belief of saving people, no matter who they were, no matter what they did. Now the only question is this: Did you come from the good route, or did you come from the true route?" The man muttered in Japanese this time, making Shirou sigh in relief at finally understanding him.

His breath hitched however. Wait, did he just say future? What did he mean by that?

Thankfully, he didn't need to voice out his question as the girl suddenly gasped in apparent surprise. "Wait!" She shouted, her voice even more frantic then before. "Did you just say he came from the future?!"

The older gentleman only regarded her with a nod. A nod that was in the affirmative.

That answered Shirou's unasked question then. Now, there was only one other thing he needed to ask. Carefully scanning his brain for the appropriate words, he let out a sigh before he asked the question he really wished they wouldn't answer. In perfectly broken English as well.

"Okay seriously, when am I?"

**XxX**

**Let it be known that Zelretch is a right bastard that is extremely hard to write down. But it was fun writing down his eccentric personality, as well as Aoko's.**

**Now before you all kill me for sending two sorcerers after Shirou almost immediately after he was sent back in time. Let me defend myself. They will play a big part to Shirou's growth in Fate: Zero/Night. They will be, well, they'll be there. I won't specifically tell you what their roles are, but I can say this. They are important characters in this Fic. And I just like them both. So there.**

**And as for Aoko being TUTORED by Zelretch. She isn't his student, no, she will never be his student. Zelretch is just guiding Aoko to control her rather wonky control of time. He won't be teaching her full time, merely guiding her as to not cause a temporal paradox that will turn the entire human race into hyena/fish hybrids. Yeah, Zelretch does not like hyena/fish hybrids.**

**Anyway, the next few chapters will definitely be longer. I have so much planned for this fic. But for the most part, I just need Shirou to actually get the mindset to face the fourth Grail war first. He can't just get thrown in there and not be expected to be shot by Kiritsugu and then dying almost immediately after that. Shirou is a brokenly powerful character with his UBW, but would he survive a war that is fought with deception and cunning? Hell naw.**

**So many people are already taking their cracks on just who Caster is in this fic. Well, let me give you all news! I won't be revealing who it is until two months before the fourth grail war! Hey, I didn't say it was GOOD news people.**

**I know I said that I would reveal who they were in this chapter or the next few ones, but now that I got a plan of actually where this fic is going. Having him being summoned right now would just destroy all my planning. Wait, did I just reveal her gender? No, I guess I didn't. Oh well, he won't be playing a large part in the early chapters of this fic anyway. So expect her to be revealed in due time. And yes people, I am an asshole. :D**

**Anyway, I really like what I got planned for this fic. But alas, I have a bitter enemy to face. Proofreading. I mean, I proofread my chapters (sometimes!), but well, laziness is me. Seriously. You know what my English teacher told me during my fourth year in highschool? "If you just passed all the projects and assignments, you would actually get a 95 to 96% in your report card." But since I didn't, I only got like an 87 or 89%. Yeah, I am THAT lazy.**

**Anyway, Thanks for the people that reviewed, the people that pm'd me. It's fun reading all them reviews, it makes me all warm and fuzzy inside. And don't worry about insulting me, I can take any and all criticism. Just don't point out my grammar/spelling mistakes. I'm trying to fix that already.**

**C.O.Y.L out, peace!**


	3. Learning about

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

**XxX**

Shirou Emiya had seen strange things in his life. Most of it happening in bulk the past week. He had been stabbed through the heart, and consequently killed. He had then been revived by something as close to magic as he could conceive. He had summoned King Arthur, who strangely enough, wasn't a male but rather a diminutive woman who hid her gender to act not as a male, but as a king. He had agreed to participate in a war he had no idea existed in the first place. He had fought alongside a woman who seemed to take great pleasure in seeing him squirm under her intense glares. He had seen the mighty Heracles chained down and stabbed by multiple weapons, this was followed by seeing a little girls heart pulled out while it was still beating. He had fought against himself, a possible future version of himself that wanted to kill him in hope that it would cause a paradox. He had killed himself. And then he went on and fought the greatest hero in recorded history, cutting off his arm and close to cutting the man in half as well.

But then again, there is always something stranger. Time traveling beat all of that by a mile.

"You can't be serious." Shirou said in English, exasperated and skeptical with the explanation he was given. I mean sure, Mages could do things that were supposed to be impossible for regular people unless they exert the effort needed to reproduce those effects, but still, time travel?

It was also something akin to a miracle he managed to understand this girl's explanation. She had been talking in English, and most of the things she explained went over his head. But he did have the general gist of it.

"Wish I was," The girl in front of him stated as she waved her hand over his head, her crimson hair floating as she channeled prana into her body. Apparently she was some sort of time mage, at least, that was what Shirou observed. But he was skeptical about that as well; did having a deep understanding with time turn your hair red? "But yeah, you are really from a different timeline then from our current one. It's amazing why Gaia hadn't done something to erase you from this timeline actually."

That… That was a scary thought. He would be rejected and erased? Did the world really hold that much power?

"Yes it does actually." Shirou was reminded that there was another person next to him. This was could be even more dangerous than the girl that had explained his predicament to him.

He turned his head and took in the sight of the older gentleman. All three of them were seated by a dining table that would at least fit a family of four. Shirou was right across from the girl, who turned her attention towards the man seated next to him. And the man himself had been silent the whole time the girl was explaining the whole theory of time traveling to him.

"Did you just-?" He muttered in Japanese this time, switching back to his main language by instinct.

The older man only smiled at him, a playful one. A smile that seemed to scare Shirou for some reason. "Read your mind? No, I did not. I can't read minds my dear boy. I can only figure out what you're not going to say to me." He explained in Japanese. And if Shirou had a headache before, it grew exponentially as the man told him his excuse of reading his mind.

He shook his head and returned his attention to the girl in front of him. Taking his time, he thought of what he was going to say. He cursed himself as he drew a blank. He really should have paid more attention in English class. Fuji-nee meant well, but that woman was just bonkers when it came to focusing on one thing for too long.

Seeing his inner plight, Zelretch couldn't help but chuckle. Garnering his and the girls attention once more. "Oh no, don't mind me," He insisted as he raised a hand as if shooing them. "Just amused at how this day is going about. I'm glad I was able to talk to Zelretch." He had said in both English and Japanese. At the same time.

Shirou's headache grew to a migraine. Seriously? How was that even possible?

He let out a sigh as he turned towards the girl again. Carefully taking his time as to not blub the sentence, he carefully asked her. "What is your name?" He patted himself on the back. It was understandable and it seemed correct.

The girl regarded him with a glance, before she shrugged her shoulders. "Aoko Aozaki." She told him her name. And Shirou had to resist the urge to squint his eyes at her.

"Hang on." He muttered in Japanese as he stared at the girl. Seeing him staring, Aoko let loose an impish grin. Confirming his suspicions.

Damn it. He had tried so hard to talk to the girl in English.

"Why'd you explain that to me in English?" He asked her in Japanese. The girl only shrugged before looking over at the older man right next to him.

She was so like Rin.

Letting out another sigh, he turned towards the man next to him, unsure of what to do now. "So…" He began, his voice slightly shaky as he thought of the situation he had found himself in.

The older man regarded him with a strange look, a look that Shirou couldn't read. The man raised an eyebrow at him, quietly urging him to continue on.

He opened his mouth, and then closed it once more. In all honesty, he didn't know what to ask at this time. All he knew, was that he somehow traveled through time, he had been knocked out, Gilgamesh was nowhere to be seen, he had been close to impaling the red haired/ brown haired girl that went my the name Aoko, and this old man knew more about the situation but he wasn't sharing anything he knew.

He shifted his head again as he heard the man laugh. He was beginning to hate that laugh.

"Haha. Well, I guess I should tell you the most important part first before we go any deeper." The man said cryptically, and even though he had spoken in Japanese, the man's voice held a tone that seemed almost grandfatherly and detached at the same time.

Taking a deep breath, the man looked over at Shirou. "First off: My name is Zelretch. I won't bother telling you my last name because no one ever bothers to remember it. And second: You have traveled twelve years into the past, two years before the fourth grail war started. And you my dear child-" The man trailed as he pointed at Shirou's hand.

Immediately after he did so, Shirou felt a familiar tingle on the back of it. A tingle that was so menacing, so heart stopping, and so frightening for him to experience once more. _'You can't be serious.'_ He thought as he raised his right hand.

A red mark began forming on his hand. The first to appear was a circle, a red circle that glowed with power. The next to form, which happened to be inside the circle, was a C, its edges sharpened. And the last to form was a thick line that hovered just below the circle; its ends sharp like the edges of the C.

It was familiar because Shirou had had one before. One that was shaped like a sword. This one was different; this was looked more like a scepter that had blades. It was vastly different than his previous one, but the power coursing through it was still the same.

It was the Command Sigils.

"You who have fought the King of Heroes, you who have traveled into the past, you who put his ideal on the line, you who was born in fire and raised through steel. You Shirou Emiya…" The man began listing the multiple things he had done, the things he was known for, and the things he had fought for his life for. He heard the man, but he really wasn't paying that much attention. He was too mesmerized by the sigils that had appeared on his right hand. This was- This was just too much. "Have been chosen to compete in the next Heaven's Feel. You have been chosen to fight, the Fourth Grail War." The man's tone of voice was ominous as it echoed around the hotel room they had dragged him to while he was unconscious.

Shirou had no words as he quietly stared at the sigils in his hand.

**Fate: Zero/Night**

**XxX**

"Oh?" He felt a tingle, a familiar tingle that had happened six times already. He let out a small smile as he recognized just what the tingle meant.

He stood up from his seating position, carefully placing the book he was reading and placing it on his desk. Making sure that he had marked the page that he was on, he began walking towards the other end of the room, towards a peculiar looking gramophone that seemed to be attached to a makeshift Richter scale. It looked out of place in the middle of all that bookshelf filled with books, but it was still an amazing piece of thaumaturgy, although a phone could probably do a better job at conveying his message, the man that held the other line for this particular code hated technology, or rather, technology hated him.

It was amusing to had seen him try to operate a dial phone, even more so when he attempted to try and install wires into his house for phone usage. Those events are what had led the man to actually making a code that operated the same way as phones. Albeit the code itself wasn't much to look at. It still acted like a fax machine and telephone, so he guessed he shouldn't complain if it actually yielded results.

Stopping right in front of the odd item, he reached forward towards the crank, and then he began to crank it, the sound of the item gathering power reverberated around the enclosed space that was his bedroom.

He was on his way towards his fifth rotation when the person answered. He smiled as he stopped cranking. "Tokiomi." He said his aged voice raspy as he spoke into the gramophone.

"I take it you have news?" A voice responded, coming right out of the gramophone as well. The Richter scale began to move, carefully tracing letters that formed the same sentence as the man on the other end of the line spoke.

"Big news actually," He began once more, taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes and spoke once more. "The seventh Master has been chosen."

Silence, the only thing that could be heard was the strange machine's 'whiring' as he waited for the man on the other end of the line's response.

"That is sooner then we thought. Has the Master already registered?" Once more, the Richter scale began to jot down the words onto the paper. He only sighed as he watched it do so.

"No not yet. I don't think they have a Servant either. But this could be troubling for our plans." He muttered as he skimmed over his bookshelf, looking for nothing in particular. His eyes darted over a book, and he quickly took it from its place. Nodding to himself as he flipped through it.

"Yes, it is quite troubling, especially should this Master actually summon a Servant now. The seventh Master is always a wild card." Tokiomi muttered on the end of the line. He couldn't help but smile at his clear exasperation. He knew just how much he hated it when plans did not go smoothly.

"Seven Servants for the Seven Masters. That is how it will always be." He said as he glazed his eyes over a particular part of the book, smirking to himself at how fitting it was for the conversation.

"Saber, Archer, Lancer, Caster, Assassin, Rider, and Berserker. A Servant represents one of these classes as they fight in the Grail War, and each class has their own strengths and weaknesses." He explained, and although he knew Tokiomi knew everything he could know about the Grail War, merely brushing over these facts couldn't hurt.

"Your point?" Tokiomi asked, his voice slightly nonplussed at his summary of something he already knew about.

"My point is," He coughed as he closed the book. "Is that there can only being one class of each in the Grail War. There can only be one Saber, there can only be one Rided, etcetera."

"And seeing as we really don't have anything to go by with your preferred Servant, we can only assume that he could fit in any of these classes sans the Berserker class." He stopped as he breathed in before he placed the book back from where he pulled it out from.

"My point is," He emphasized those words this time, this time his voice and tone was straightforward. "You shouldn't really let this get to you. Your preferred Servant can fit any role, and you shouldn't need to worry about which class he would take. As long as we stick to the plan, as long as we manage by ourselves, as long as we're one step ahead the opposition, there is no need to worry." He finished, smiling as he did so.

Silence followed for five to eight seconds, before some laughter begun to echo from the gramophone. "I suppose you're right. As long as I have Kirei to watch over my back, I'm confident I shouldn't worry at all." He smiled at Tokiomi's mood change. Now that the heavy conversation was out of the way, he could finally ask what he wanted.

"How is he?" He asked, not at all hiding the apprehensiveness in his voice. After all, he was still his son, and no parent in their right mind would want to put their child in a coffin and bury them six feet under.

The chuckling resumed once more from the other end of the line. "He is coming around. Though the fact that he has almost negligible circuits has made it harder to actually teach him the basics." Tokiomi said.

He let out a small smile at that. "You needn't worry about that however. Kirei will meet your expectations." Another chuckle, this time from both men.

"That I have no doubt about Risei," Tokiomi said, the faint sound of shuffling erupting from the other end of the line. "Now, if you may excuse me, I still have to further my project. You've interrupted me whilst I was on a very delicate process."

Risei Kotomine let out a small laugh. "Of course, of course. I wouldn't want to disturb you in case you have a volatile spell in the brew. Till then Tokiomi." Risei said as he cut off the connection. Quite an amazing thing this Gramophone is, it automatically cuts off the connection when it detects the intent to leave.

Risei turned around, and made his way back towards his desk. And even though that talk was a welcome distraction, he still needed to face another kind of problem. A problem that made the strongest men cringe, and the smartest men revert to a childlike mind state.

And as he sat on his desk and prepared to tackle the paperwork that made men turn into children, he thought back on his son. And he couldn't help but let out a small smile as he did so. He would be fine, he had an astounding teacher.

And so Risei continued on, inside the Kotomine church in Fuyuki city, unaware that the newest Master and the Sorcerers were right under his nose.

**XxX**

"Gahk-!" Shirou shouted as he keeled over, his hands gripping his head as a splitting headache akin to a migraine. Not the subtle kind either. This was on a whole new level.

"I told you," Aoko snorted as she watched him keel over, her tone conceited. Strangely enough, the procedure seemed to work, as he understood her sentence, even if it was in English. "No one would be ready to have _that_ happen in just five minutes."

"Yeah, you did tell me that." Shirou said as he clenched his teeth, not in anger, but in annoyance. Honestly, this girl was just- ugh. "But I clearly remember not wanting to do that either." He said in good English, almost exasperated as he straightened his body.

"Yeah sure, whatever. Just remember your manners kid, I'm a lot older then I look." Aoko said dismissively as she stood up, realizing she said something that could be taken on a whole new level, she shook her headn and rephrased that sentence. "I'm older then you, though I'm a lot younger than Zelretch, it still makes me older and more experienced than you. Don't forget that." She rephrased as she walked by him.

Really? This girl was something alright. And what did she mean by being not as old as Zelretch?

"Thanks." He muttered just loud enough for her to hear, but she either didn't hear it, or didn't care enough to actually regard him, she just kept walking until she was out of the room.

He let out another sigh as he began to pick himself off from the ground, now wasn't the time to think about her quirks. Quickly making his way over towards to the corner, he sat down on a lounge chair situated right by it. Taking the book that was placed on it as he did so.

Taking in the cover of the book, he let out breath of relief as he managed to read the English letters. Taking the next step, he opened the book and began reading out loud.

"Humpty-dumpty sat on a wall…" He was amazed as he continued to read the English nursery rhyme book. Not stopping at all as he read it straight as if it was Japanese.

Honestly, he shouldn't be surprised about it. After all, he had spent five months learning the English language with Aoko.

And when he said five months, it was really five months of teaching crammed into five minutes thanks to Aoko's amazing magic.

What she did, was accelerate them to the point where they moved faster than they could perceive time. Meaning, they could move while everyone else was still. And for the amount of time they stayed in that state, Aoko managed to teach him English, almost to the point of it being second nature to him.

Now, all her lessons were verbal, because holding a piece of paper while you were accelerating 2.63e+6 per second actually made friction that much more dangerous. But she was a good teacher; in fact, he'd wager that should she actually decide to make teaching a profession, she'd be damn good at it. And yes, Aoko did the math for him. Even more reason for her to be a teacher.

Her teaching aside, he wondered why she even bothered to that for him. She wouldn't be getting anything out of it, and she sure as hell didn't owe him anything. So why?

As he finished the nursery rhyme book, he closed it and placed it on the table right next to the chair, his thoughts still thinking about Aoko and her selfless sacrifice of five months to take the time to teach him English.

'_Maybe she was ordered to do it?'_ He thought as he stood up, making his way over towards the open kitchen. Whoever could actually order a time witch to actually teach him would be extremely strong to do so? Come to think of it, there was only other one person he could think of that could possibly do it. And he was nowhere to be found, at least, not for the whole night. After he had dropped the bomb that he was a time traveler, the man up and vanished. Excusing himself to go to the bathroom, he made it there just fine, but he never did come out of it. Aoko looked for him, but what she found was an open bathroom door, and a note. No Zelretch.

And whatever was written on that note, well, it had put Aoko in a bad mood. She didn't let him read it, saying that it wasn't meant for him. But whatever was written on it made Aoko grumble and mutter obscenities as she cursed Zelretch.

He knew better then to get between a girl and her anger, so he wisely stepped out of the way. Taking the couch that had been in the next room, he plopped himself down on it so he could sleep and think about his current predicament. Time traveling was an alien concept to him. He barely remembered what his fight with Gilgamesh save for the fact that he had been about to cut the man down where he stood. But after that, everything else was a blur. He didn't remember passing out, he didn't remember doing anything, he didn't even remember if he was alive as he was unconscious.

The only reason to think that he was alive during that time was the fact that he was tired, and he was so close to sleeping already. And he did just that, he slept. He would have said like a rock, but he was awoken by Aoko sometime after he had already slept.

At first, he was confused as to why she would wake him up, but then she told him the reason. She was going to teach him English. In five minutes.

Yeah, needless to say, he was skeptical about that.

She then went off on the dangers of doing her procedure of teaching, as this could potentially damage your perception of time if you decided to actually get comfortable moving so fast that everything else was moving like a snail.

After she had explained those dangers, Shirou decided that he should be learning English the safe and sound way. Telling her that he didn't want to take the risk.

Well, at least she warned him of the side-effects of the procedure.

She had grabbed his head on both sides with her hands, before she leaned forward, placing her own forehead on his. So surprised was he that he didn't move, he only heard Aoko mutter a spell, before the world seemed to slow to a crawl.

Five seconds later, he knew English, and had a splitting headache to go with it. Damn it Aoko.

And as he entered the kitchen and looked it over, looking for the places where the utensils were, where the cooking pots were, and where the cutting board was, he dwelled on one thought.

During his five months of being tutored by Aoko in English, he had apparently started calling her by her first name. He didn't remember where it started, but apparently, he was so used to it that he was even calling her by her given name in his mind.

And suddenly, her aloofness after their five months together actually made sense. He had probably offended her in some way or another, and she, being unable to disobey an order, decided to let it not get to her.

Yeah, that was definitely it.

At least, he thought it was.

He shook his head clear of stray thoughts, he was about to cook. He didn't want distractions as he was about to do so. That would be a sin. A cardinal sin.

Carefully pulling out a knife that had been carefully stowed to the side, and taking out the chopping board, he began to clean both. Quietly humming as he did so.

"Jack and Jill went up the hill-" He quietly sang.

**XxX**

"This was…" Aoko was speechless. Whatever this was, it was not food. It was Food, with a capital F.

Shirou couldn't help but smile at his handiwork. He had cooked as a way to make up for his previous disrespect, and apparently, it was good to actually be speechless.

Take that Sakura Matou! I can still cook Japanese cuisine and make people speechless! You're western cuisine holds no candle to mine!

Shirou grinned sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his head. "I figured it's a good way to say sorry." He said, snapping Aoko out of her reverie. She turned towards him and raised an eyebrow.

"Sorry? What for?" She asked, her tone clearly confused. Surprising Shirou.

Shaking his head as to clear away his own confusion, he coughed. "For calling you by your first name. You're Japanese right?" He asked her as he scratched the back of his head. Unsure as to why he was asking such a question when the answer was obvious.

Aoko blinked once, and then twice, and then three times. Finally, after her fourth blink, she managed to compose herself before she just waved a hand at him.

"Don't worry about it. I like it better when people call me by my given name more than my family name." She said, dismissing his apology nonchalantly.

This confused Shirou greatly, not to mention made him slightly apprehensive. He never really got why people dismissed their last names so easily, he had forgotten his original one, and his new given one actually made him proud.

"I don't get it. Why don't you like being called your last name?" He blurted out the thought he had in his mind. Aoko raised an eyebrow at the question, which Shirou caught.

His eyes widening, realizing he had said something rather rude and forward, he waved his hand apologetically. But Aoko already began speaking.

"Because my last name reminds me of my sister." She said with a slight edge to her voice. And even though there was only annoyance in them, Shirou could detect some bitterness in them as well.

Deciding not to press on the matter, he started picking up the plates so it would be easier to transport them from the table to the sink.

As he was doing so however, Aoko spoke up. "What about you?" She asked him. He didn't raise his head, and only answered as honestly as he could.

"I like my last name better." He said as he slid the chair he was sitting on and stood up. Picking up the plates and walking out towards the kitchen after he did so.

Aoko quickly followed him, taking her own plate and some others as she did so. "Why though? Isn't your last name only branding you a member of your family? Not as an individual? While I get that your relative is the Magus Killer, don't you want to make a name for yourself?" She asked him as she trailed behind him as he was entering the kitchen.

"While that's normally true for people…" He trailed as he placed the plates down on the sink, the plates making a clinking noise as they were placed on the sink. "It's actually the opposite for me. My last name is who I am, and my given name is just a fragment of a past that I can't remember." He said as he stepped aside and made way for Aoko to place her own set of plates in the sink.

"What do you mean by that?" She asked as she placed her plates on top of Shirou's pile. She then opened the tap and water gushed out of the faucet. She then grabbed the sponge by the sink and began to dab dishwashing soap on it.

"Ah, I can do that." Shirou said as he tried to pry the sponge away from Aoko's hands. She only scoffed as she picked up a plate and rinsed it, before she proceeded to wipe the sponge filled with soap on it.

"You cooked, the least I can do is wash the dishes. Don't worry about it. Just answer my question." She insisted. Shirou only grumbled.

"Fine. But at least let me dry the dishes. And to answer your question…" Shirou trailed as he found a towel and waited for the first dish to finish being rinsed. "I was in a fire before. Hundreds of people died, thousands injured. I was the only person left unscathed, the doctors were amazed when they found me actually. They said that between treating the people with broken spines, lungs filled with smoke, and people charred by third degree burns, I was a breath of fresh air." He said detachedly. He was so used to telling this story, it was like second nature to him.

He heard a plate break next to him, and he twisted his head to try and find out what happened. What he found surprised him greatly, Aoko looked furious for some reason as she stared down in the sink, the broken remains of the plate she had gripped mixed with the water going down the drain.

"How can you…" Her voice was low as Shirou raised an eyebrow. "How can you say that so nonchalantly?!" She shouted as she glared at him. So taken aback by the action was he that he actually took a step back in surprise.

"W-what's wrong? I only answered your question!" He defended himself as he started backing away from the furious eyes of Aoko. Strangely enough, her eye weren't red this time, instead, they were blue. He could also feel the constant air of power emanating from Aoko seemed to lessen as well. Which seemed to be the exact opposite of the things he was seeing from Aoko right now.

He made a mental note. Aoko wasn't as scary as Rin when angered, but she still was rather scary in her own right.

"Yes you did! But the way you said told me about those people injured, you sound like you don't even care!" She shouted, accusing him for something he had absolutely no control over.

He clenched his teeth as he stood his ground, un-amused at her accusation of him not caring. "I did care! But when I was pulled out of that damn fire by my father, I had already walked over both dead and alive bodies of both children and adults!" He defended himself, clearly confused as to why she was so angry over it.

Aoko took a step back in surprise at his words. Before she clenched her teeth again and pointed a finger at him. "How can you say that without flinching?! You said that you walked over alive people! Why didn't you at least help them!?" She shouted, her brown hair bristling as she did so.

Shirou only shook his head. "And what? Die with them? I saw them all you know. I saw parents pull out their children from rubble, only for them to be caught in the same rubble their children were in. And after that, the children that were freed burned alive as they tried to call for help, call for anyone to help their parents. I saw lovers pull each other, carry each other, even drag each other through the fire, making sure their significant other made it. But it did not work! They'd get burned as they pulled, they'd get crushed as they carried, and they'd get suffocated as they dragged! I didn't want to one of those people! So I just walked, walked over bodies, walked past people that screamed for me to help them, walked past my humanity, I walked past everything so I could live!" Shirou shouted as he crossed his arms stubbornly. Normally, he didn't care much for talking about the fire. But being accused of being heartless just made him bristle. He had no choice, he had to leave behind his life, his emotions, himself, so he could survive that hell.

Aoko took a step back, the sponge in her hand falling down in the sink as she did so. That was descriptive, exceedingly so. "You said you left your humanity… Does that mean?" She trailed, unsure if he was going to answer that.

He did. "Yes. I left behind my previous life, so I at least had a chance to live an empty one. I'm sorry, but I don't want to die if I have the chance of saving other people, for all the lives I left behind I'll save ten more." He said. It was true after all; he still had his dream, his ambition of becoming a superhero. To live up to his father's dream.

Aoko raised an eyebrow at his answer. "Now you're just contradicting yourself. You said that you wanted to live, so you stepped on people so you could do that. But now you're telling me you'd die to let other people live?" She said. Her voice still strong.

Shirou only nodded his head. He knew it was hypocritical, but he knew what he needed to do. "I live on so I can save people. To make up for the people that I stepped on, for all the people I ignored in that fire, to all the people I left to die, I will save ten more for each. My life be damned." He said with clear conviction. His voice did not waver, and he would never let it.

Aoko carefully regarded him with scrutinizing eyes. Before she finally relented and sighed. "That line of thinking, you're horribly distorted you know that?"

An image of Rin flashed by his mind, of her crying and telling him that he was distorted. And how he only smiled at her and practically said 'I know and I don't care.'

He did the same as he did before; he smiled at Aoko and just nodded his head. "I've been told." He said with a smile on his face.

Aoko sighed as he said that before she picked up the sponge from the sink, returning to her duty of washing the dishes, she would ignore the broken shards until later. "You mentioned being pulled out of the fire by your father, was he a survivor of the fire?" She asked.

Shirou, sensing the hostility was lost, and the return of Aoko's red eyes, moved back towards her side, waiting for the next plate that he could at least dry.

"I don't really know. He never said anything about surviving the fire. The only thing that I can remember about him was him pulling me out of the fire while he was smiling." He said as he let out a small smile at remembering that memory. It was something that he will never forget after all.

"Smiling? Why's that?" She asked as she handed him a plate. Shirou just shrugged. The previous hostile air seemed to go back to its previous neutral one.

"I was the only one he could save. That's what he told me, and that made him the happiest person in the world." He said as he placed the plate he was drying on the counter.

"Was he a fire fighter or something?" She asked him, once more giving him a plate.

He only shook his head in the negative. "No, he was a Magus." He said clearly and cleanly. Like the plate he had been drying.

Aoko raised an eyebrow. "Tell me, is your father Kiritsugu Emiya?" She asked him, taking him by surprise.

He gave her a surprised look. "Yeah, how'd you know that?" He asked her as he looked at her, waiting for her answer.

"Hot damn, you really are the Magus Killer's son. So that means you're really from the future." Aoko said as she gave him yet another plate. He promptly began drying it.

"You know, you seem so surprised by me being from the future. You have control over time, is time traveling so really far fetched? And what's this about being the Magus Killer's son?" He asked her two questions.

Aoko only shook her head. "No. I can't control time. I only have slight powers over it. See my eyes?" She asked him as she pointed a finger full of suds towards it. Shirou nodded. "I'm actually using magic to shift my time forward, making them red and giving me a sort of precognitive vision, meaning I can see shifts in possible futures for a short while. It's useful when I just want to get things done and when I'm fighting. Gives me a headache though. And physically traveling through time is impossible, even for me, so traveling through time to the past is out of my reach." She explained her eye color, which made him raise an eyebrow at.

"If it gives you a headache, why do you even use it? And does messing with time really turn everything red?" He asked her, honestly confused as to why she would give herself a headache when she could avoid it if necessary.

"To answer the 'Red time' question, I honestly have no idea. I don't question it because I like the color, but also because I might get a headache from over thinking about it. And for your other question, I have two reasons:" She said as she gave him the last plate from the sink. Turning towards him as she did so. "For one, I hate the color blue. I even hate my name. Sounds like you're calling me 'Blue'." She said as she raised her pointer finger. She then raised her middle finger. "And second, having blue eyes means that I look somewhat like my sister."

"And why is looking like your sister a bad thing? Do you and your sister not get along?" Shirou asked her. Aoko only shook her head. He scowled as he finished drying the last plate and placed it on top of the pile.

"Just don't. Okay?" She said warningly. Message received then.

"Now, about your father, or the 'Magus Killer.'" Aoko began as she turned around and started walking towards the door. Shirou trailing behind her.

"Sorry to say, but your father may have been an imposter." She said as she plopped down on the sofa. Shirou raised an eyebrow as he stared at her and how she nonchalantly told him that his dad could have possibly been a fake.

"And you're sure of this how?" He asked her, Aoko merely shrugged her shoulders before she scooted over, giving Shirou just enough space to sit down. Shirou did so as he looked over towards the brown haired girl.

"Because Kiritsugu Emiya is an empty man waiting for the end to take him." She said confidently. Shirou was alarmed at that.

"What do you mean by that? Dad wasn't like. He was nice and he almost always smiled." Shirou stated matter-of-factly. Aoko scoffed as she crossed her legs and grabbed a magazine that had been sitting on the coffee table in front of her.

"Yeah sure. Maybe that'll be what happens in twelve years, but right now. That man is a time bomb looking for a way into Valhalla." Aoko stated before she realized the absurdity of that statement. "Actually, scratch that. Not Valhalla, he's just looking for a way to die." Kiritusugu would never get into Valhalla. He wasn't a warrior, he was a killer. Granted he knew how to fight, but in Valhalla, they prided themselves in-

Aoko shook her head clear of these weird thoughts. Now wasn't the time.

"Dad really wasn't like that with me though. He was nice, always smiling, always looking over me and my childish neighbor, he did go out on business trips once in a while, but it was always to Germany. If he was a 'Magus Killer' then why was he allowed free reign and why wasn't he arrested by the Mage police?" He asked her, and she just gave him an incredulous look.

"Mage po-what?" She asked, her tone clearly amused and close to laughter. Shirou raised an eyebrow.

"You know; the people that put the Magic laws into practice? The police?" Shirou asked her, and this time, she clearly let out a howl of laughter.

"Ahahahaha! That's the funniest thing I've ever heard! Seriously? 'Mage police'? That's the best thing you could think of? Ahahaha!" Aoko's laughter echoed around the hotel room.

Shirou only scowled at her before he snapped. "Then what do they call the people that enforce the law?" Shirou asked, clearly un-amused at having his on the fly name for the magical police shot down so quickly and brutally.

"T-T-Their called the Enforcers. My sides are killing me!" Aoko managed to say in between bouts of laughter and breathing. Shirou only grumbled as he waited for her to calm down.

After letting loose another hail of laughter, Aoko began to compose herself. "T-the Enforcers enforce the one and only law of Magic. To never reveal anything about Magic to the mundane world. That's their one and only job, and their damn good at it I'll tell you that." Aoko stated matter-of-factly.

"Back to my question, why was he allowed free reign of killing people? Wouldn't killing people actually compromise magic?" He asked her, to which Aoko only shook her head. All her previous mirth now replaced with neutrality.

"No, you see, when Enforcers move, they usually target mages that are either A: Doing so much damage to the mundane world that they risk getting discovered by the regular humans, or B: They're just a menace to both the Association and the mundane world." She explained.

Shirou raised an eyebrow at that. "The Association?" He asked her, which made her raise her own eyebrow.

"What kind of Magus are you? Don't you at least know the basics? What did your father teach you?" She asked him, clearly disbelieving of his plight of confusion.

Shirou sheepishly smiled and rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah... about that." His voice trailed as he put his hand down and laughed. "I'm actually a third-rate magus, and that's a stretch by its own right. I'm basically just a baby, which I've been told I really was." He stated, which surprised Aoko even more.

"Wait just a moment. When you woke up, you projected those weapons. Weapons that Zelretch pointed out were Noble Phantasms. How can you be a third-rate magus if you can project those things?" She asked, clearly disbelieving of his downgrading of his skills.

Shirou only shook his head. "No, you see. I only have three skills that make me a Magus. I can Grasp, and I can Project. Those two skills are usually what I use. And those Noble Phantasms weren't projected, they were Traced." He explained. Aoko raised an eyebrow.

"What do you mean 'Traced'?" She asked him. Shirou only shrugged his shoulders.

"I'm kind of really good at Grasping that I can actually trace everything about a weapon. From the way it was made, the material it was made from, and all its previous users." He stated. Aoko whistled.

"That's impressive. But that doesn't answer my question. You can at least cast low level spells right? What's your Element, your Origin?" She asked him, and he only tilted his head in confusion.

"Element? Origin? What are you talking about?" He asked her, Aoko only sighed and shook her head.

"Wow, I guess you weren't lying. You really are third-rate aren't you?" She asked him, and he only smiled at her sheepishly.

Aoko sighed once more, before she carefully removed something from her back pocket. Shirou watched her as she held the piece of folded paper in her hands before she opened it. He watched her as she read the letter, before she nodded and gave it to him.

Surprised at the sudden letter, he reeled back, his eyes focusing on the letter like it was an alien. "What?" He began, but Aoko cut him off.

"Just read it and you'll understand. Feel free to shout 'Damn you Zelretch!' when you're finished." She said, her tone dismissive as she did so.

Shirou raised an eyebrow at her explanation, before he carefully took the piece of paper and began reading it.

_Aoko:_

_The reason I took you from your house was for this moment. You will train Shirou Emiya, the person who was from the future that he fought for. The future that no longer exists in this world. He will be your apprentice, and you will guide him as he enters the fourth Heaven's Feel._

_In truth, I have already seen this happen, multiple times. But in each of those repeats, he always followed a set path, a path towards self-destruction._

_The multiple endings of this story are not something for the faint of heart, and I shouldn't care about it. But I find myself amused at his predicament. A predicament caused by a corrupted grail, a grail that sent him back in time twelve years._

_You're probably thinking something along the lines of 'If you know the ending, then why are you trying to change it?' Well, I'll tell you. This world has no definite one. I see the ending of this world, and it is blank. Whatever happens after you read this letter is blank to me._

_This is ominous as it is intriguing. This has never happened before, and I doubt that it will happen again._

_Yes Aoko, me, the Sorcerer of the Kaleidoscope, has seen a one of a kind world with an ending as broad as a plain. You must be rolling around laughing at my predicament._

_On that note Aoko. I have already thought you everything I can about your magic. From here on out, you are on your own. But I do have one request of you: take Shirou Emiya and let him become your student. It would be a shame if I just left him and this one of a kind world actually lost itself in the darkness._

_I do hope that those two years under my tutelage has thought you something. If not, then I guess it was all for nothing. I will be leaving Shirou in your care, please do take care of him._

_Zelretch_

_P.S: In regards to my sudden leaving, I just want to observe. I hope you don't mind._

_P.P.S: Send my regards to the manager of the hotel. The kitchen for room 304 is exquisite, just ask your new student._

_P.P.P.S: Also send my regards to the nearby market; they restock the fridge almost ever week._

Shirou stared at the piece of paper, clearly disbelieving the words that were written on it. If anything, it gave him an extremely painful headache.

He read it once more, sighing as the words didn't rearrange themselves into something that actually gave him respite; he gave it back to Aoko.

"I won't ask you about this Corrupted grail. I won't ask you about what you want…" Aoko began, Shirou turned towards her. "What I will ask you is this. This world is on the path to ruin, Zelretch himself said so. He's a Sorcerer that can see and govern the different worlds that are parallel, that intersect, and that cover each other. He knows what he knows, and he's seldom wrong." Aoko explained why she trusted Zelretch in regards to his statement in the letter. "I trust him to be right. But at the same time, I can't help but be angry at him. He doesn't do anything to help, he only throws a wildcard into a damn blender and watches what kind of smoothie he can make." Aoko voice grew angry as she listed why she didn't like Zelretch. "But I do trust him, and when he says this world is close to the darkness, I have to assume that it is literal. So I ask you Shirou Emiya. Will you help me save my world? A world that you have no right in, a world that isn't yours, a world that you shouldn't really care about. Will you risk your life and save this world?" She asked him.

He answered without thinking at all. "Yes. I'll do it." He stated without missing a beat. Aoko could only sigh and shake her head.

"Distorted. You really are distorted." She said exasperated as she stood up and made her way past him.

"Get ready to leave tomorrow. Me and Zelretch had a flight planned for London. Seeing as he isn't here anymore, and that I'm your teacher. We'll be going there together. Use today to buy clothes and talking to the manager of the hotel and market." She told him.

Shirou could only shake his head. Just what had he gotten himself into?

**XxX**

**Probably the weakest ending I've ever done. But meh, at least I'm satisfied with the other parts of this chapter.**

**Longer chapters also mean I update less regularly, but I guess that's a boon for me as well. I can focus on actually improving the quality of my writing.**

**Anyway, to explain Zelretch's confusing letter. It's basically like this. He already saw the endings from the before Aoko would have read that letter. Meaning everything after she reads the letter is blank to him.**

**As for Aoko apprenticing Shirou, yeah. That is what I mean by her being an important character.**

**As for Aoko's way of teaching Shirou English. That was all they did during the five months everything else was crawling. Aoko only thought him English and nothing else. They never learned about each other, they only spoke and taught/learned in English.**

**I have no further words for this chapter. Only that Risei informing Tokiomi that the last Master was chosen will slightly alter his plans for the future.**

**Really. No further words. Just pm, or just review your questions. And I'll try to answer everything. I'm just tired right now.**

**I've proofread this to the best of my ability. Just tell me if I missed something, or a lot of somethings since my proofreading is equal to skimming.**

**Also, I'd like to drop a big thank you for you guys that reviewed. It's awesome to have 16 reviews per chapter.**

**But I have a feeling that people will be disappointed with this chapter for some reason. I have no idea why. Anyway, just drop a review to tell me what you think. I'm gonna go sleep.**

**C.O.Y.L out, peace.**


	4. Defeated look

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

**XxX**

Shirou Emiya expected a lot of things when he first set foot in the Clock Tower in London, England.

He expected English for one; he expected to hear shouts of English coming from the local populace going about their day to day lives. He expected the mages inside the building to actually be talkative. It _was_ a school supposedly after all.

For another, he expected courtesy. The English were supposed to be gentlemen and women after all. So expecting for some bit of courtesy from the people wasn't just expected, it almost seemed like an obligation for the English.

And lastly, he expected to be treated none too differently from the time he went to regular school.

Sure enough, all three things he thought he could expect did not happen at all.

There were no shouts in English, no murmuring even. Only the silence as they walked through the hallowed halls of the hidden building that was right under the clock tower 'Big Ben'. Even as they passed by groups of people, they never talked; they only regarded them with a disdainful look before they hurriedly began walking away.

And there was no courtesy either. From the looks they were being given, Shirou actually thought he had done something to offend them. He just, for the life of him, could not figure out what.

"Don't pay too much attention to them." Aoko said from beside him, Shirou turned his head and regarded her with a confused look.

Aoko only sighed and shook her head. "They don't like Asians." She told him, and he nodded his head. Not really understanding it, but generally just accepting that fact.

"Come on, I still have to talk to the vice-director of the Tower." Aoko hurried him along as she began to walk faster, walking past the sneering faces and rolling eyes as she did so. Shirou was amazed at her nonchalant way of ignoring the people that didn't want them there. Until he remembered that he needed to catch up to her.

"H-hey! Wait up Aoko!" He shouted as he ran after her, making sure he kept her in his sights as he navigated through the crowd of people that stared and sneered at him.

He didn't pay them much mind, only preferring to catch up to Aoko. But a sudden tug at his bag made him stop walking. He turned around, only to come face to face with a woman with light red hair that came right above her shoulders. She had glasses right over her red eyes, and her brown business jacket and tight fitting brown pants almost made her look like one of the locals. But her facial features looked Asian, and she didn't sneer at him, so maybe she was on the same boat as him?

"Yes?" He asked her in English, still unsure if she was Asian, much less what country in Asia she was from. The woman stared at him, her red eyes piercing his golden ones. He stood stock still as she observed him. Not because he was surprised at seeing a mysterious woman stare him down, but because he 'smelled' something coming from her.

He couldn't quite place just what it was. But he could distinctly smell the scent of wood from her, as well as, to his knowledge, the smell of ink.

The woman seemed to notice his stiff form, before she tilted her head lopsidedly. "Something the matter kid?" She asked him as she reached for something from her front pocket. Shirou raised an eyebrow at her question, wasn't she the one that grabbed his bag?

Shirou opened his mouth to ask her that question, but he was stopped by the woman's hand taking out a pack of cigarettes, after she did so, she took one piece from the pack and returned it in her front pocket on her jacket, before she grabbed a lighter from the same pocket and ignited it.

Taking a deep whiff of her cigarette, closing her eyes as she did so, Shirou opened his mouth to speak up, but stopped as he grasped something he should not have.

Shirou raised an eyebrow in alarm, before he asked her. "You're made of wood?" He asked her. The woman cracked one eye open in surprise, before a small smile formed on her lips, curving around the cigarette she had in it. "Those are good instincts you have kid. What gave me away?" She asked him.

Shirou only shook his head. "Not instincts, I Structurally Grasped your cigarette. That isn't really a cigarette is it?" He asked her, even though he already knew the answer.

The red haired woman's smile grew wider. "I'm impressed kid. And to answer your question, no. It's not a cigarette. I won't tell you what it is though; a girl's gotta keep her secrets after all." She told him with words filled with mirth.

He consented to her point. Not because she was right, no, not just because of that. But also because he already knew what that cigarette was. It was a small blade, at least, it had small blades in it. The nicotine was just there as a ruse, when she blew on that cigarette, the trigger that hid the blade would activate and the blade itself will blow out of the cigarette. Attached to the blade however, would be a small chain, as the blade would be too small to kill, it was instead, used as a way to bind the opponent.

It was a strange weapon, but it did give away the woman in front of him. The chains were attached to the blade through the woman's mouth. A mouth that was made of wood.

The woman whistled, impressed at his proficiency in Grasping. "That's an interesting way of developing your magic kid. Tell me, are you a Crafter? An Alchemist?" She asked him, and he only tilted his head in confusion.

"I'm sorry, but I don't really know what those are. I'm kinda new to the whole magic business." He told her truthfully. She only raised an eyebrow as she took another whiff of her not cigarette.

"A first generation magus then. Who's your teacher? If you don't have one, I could certainly teach you some things that'll make you understand this world. I could also use your, body." She offered him as she smiled rather furtively, and he only shook his head and smiled sheepishly at her.

"Sorry, but I already have a teacher. Thanks for the offer though." He told her as nicely as he could. The woman only shrugged her shoulders before she took the cigarette from her mouth and put it out, on her right backhand.

He winced as he heard the searing of skin, but his shock soon turned to confusion as the woman reached out for his hand and placed the cigarette on his open hand. Closing it, the woman turned around and began walking away. He was about to call out to her to throw away her own trash, but he stopped as he heard her say:

"Keep it. And give my regards to Aoko. Tell her that her sister'll be waiting for her." The woman said as she turned the corner, leaving a confused Shirou as she did so.

Tilting his head at her sudden about face, he stared at the cigarette in his hands, only to realize that it wasn't really a cigarette. A small blade protruded from its tip, and the butt of the cigarette had a hole in it, a hole that had the blunt side of the blade. It had a small circular hole on it; he guessed that was where the chains would have been hooked on to.

Taking one last look at the blade/cigarette and the corner where the woman disappeared, he shrugged his shoulders before he placed the blade/cigarette in his pocket and turned around, intent on catching up to Aoko.

He would later find out that he had just met T0uk0, the latest puppet created by the genius magus Touko Aozaki, sister of Aoko Aozaki.

**Fate: Zero/Night**

**XxX**

"There you are!" Aoko shouted as she ran up to Shirou, who smiled sheepishly at her. "I told you to keep close to me; it's easy to get lost in here!" She scolded him, and he really didn't blame her for scolding him. She did warn him, but he didn't listen.

"Sorry Aoko, but I got side-tracked by one of the locals." He told her, and she raised an eyebrow at his words.

"You talked to someone? Who was it exactly?" She asked him, Shirou only scratched the back of his head sheepishly.

"Uhh…" In truth, he didn't know what to say. He couldn't just tell her that he met her sister, who knows what can of worms that would open up? But he couldn't lie either. Rin had pointed out that he was a horrible liar, and for all intents and purposes, he couldn't deny that fact. He really _was_ that horrible a liar.

So in the end, he decided to open the can of worms.

"I think I met you sister." He told her, and almost right after saying that sentence, Aoko's eyes narrowed as she stepped into his personal space.

Now granted, he was talled than her, by a head. But then again, Shirou never really did like the women he had met in his life. They were all, eccentric? Pecuiliar? Odd? Maybe all of the above. The only regular person in his life that was a woman was probably Sakura Matou. She was a breath of fresh air from the usually hyper Taiga, the condescending Rin, and the stoic Saber.

He shook his head away from those thoughts. In all likeliness, they didn't exist anymore. At least, not as the people he knew of. And though the thought saddened him somewhat, he couldn't let it get to him. He was after all, trying to save a world. His dream.

But then, why did he feel so empty?

"You met my sister you say?" She asked him, snapping him out of his reverie. Shirou refocused on Aoko, who was glaring at him as she stared into his eyes. Her red eyes that were shifting themselves in time reminded him of the woman he had met.

Yes, there was no doubt. Those eyes were the same; they had the same intensity, the same color, and the similar sense of authority and power in them.

He nodded his head slowly, confirming Aoko's question. Aoko studied him for a few more seconds, before she let out an 'Hmph' and turned around. Her long brown hair flayed onto Shirou's face, before she started walking away.

Shirou shook his face to get the feeling of the hair off his system, and as he stopped shaking, he found that Aoko had once again, taken off without him. Sighing, he jogged, trying to catch up to the strange woman that would be his teacher.

"So…" He trailed as he finally caught up to her, slowing down as he did so. She didn't regard him with a look, but he saw her slow down slightly. "Where are we going?" He asked her as they finally slowed down to a manageable level.

"To grandma's house." She told him blankly. That blank answer was answered with a blank look. But she didn't rise up to it, she merely ignored him and continued walking.

Shirou, seeing that she wouldn't be answering the question properly anytime soon, opted to just sigh. He would just have to wait and see he supposed.

As they were walking though, he noticed that fewer and fewer people came walking their way. The once open hallway which was filled with students and teachers seemed to thin. And soon enough, the only people in the hallway were him and Aoko.

Surprised at the sudden disappearance of the people, he turned around, only to see people far away, he could accurately say they were on the horizon. _'Strange, I don't remember walking that far.' _He thought as he squinted his eyes.

On closer inspection, he realized they were real people, but they seemed to be avoiding this hallway, there seemed to be a boundary where they would turn, but then shake their heads before they all turned back.

He hadn't felt like he had passed a boundary field, but then, why did those people seem to avoid this hallway?

"Hey." Shirou turned around as he heard someone call out for him. He saw Aoko, who had her arms crossed as she tapped her foot impatiently, obviously waiting for him. "Let's get going. And don't worry, this hallway isn't cursed." She told him as she turned around once more and began walking.

Shirou quickly jogged up to her, still rather unsure of her vague words. He shrugged mentally as he just decided to roll with it. She wouldn't be leading him somewhere she thought he wasn't ready. She wouldn't do that at least.

At least, that was what he hoped for.

Soon enough, the hallway ended. The heavy looking ornate wooden double doors in front of them looked like something that belonged to a mansion. Intricate carvings of what looked like ancient letters were etched onto the outer rims of the door, he couldn't understand them, but they seemed to be emanating some sort of power, at least, if the faint humming indicating anything. The golden hinges and golden doorknobs really made it look like something from a noble's house, but they too, seemed to hold some sort of latent power themselves as they seemed to glow golden, not shine like it had been polished.

"Right. Let's go meet grandma." Aoko said in a lackluster tone as she stepped forward and grasped the golden doorknob. She twisted it and opened the door on the left, and almost immediately, a strong gust of wind came rushing out of the room.

Shirou shielded his eyes as dust flew towards them at amazing speeds, but Aoko didn't seem fazed by it, instead, she only continued to open the door, before stepping inside without a care.

Shirou watched her as she disappeared behind the door, but he soon realized that he would have to come with her. With a deep breath of air, he tentatively took a step forward, letting one foot into the room.

He stepped inside, quietly taking in everything he could. And to say that it was impressive would have been an understatement.

Whoever owned this room had a passion for the luxurious. His first steps into the room as he closed the door behind him, was on a red satin carpet, he immediately apologized soon afterward for stepping on such a luxurious carpet with his shoes. In all likelihood, he had dirtied it.

But as the feelings of apologizing ended, it was replaced with wonder as he looked around rather long room.

On the walls, where one would normally see paintings, pictures, or decorations that hung on wooden plaques. There were weapons instead, weapons that hung on plaques, that hung on racks, that hung from the ceiling. They were amazingly well placed, but for all intents and purposes, they were only for decoration. He had Grasped them instinctively as he looked at them, and the weapons that he had been staring at had hardly been used before. At least, the ones in by the entrance.

But as he walked down the red carpet, he found that each weapons history seemed to deepen as he got deeper into the room. That sword that looked like it had been polished just recently had been used to slice an arm off, that spear had been thrown and had pierced right through a skull, and that halberd… He shuddered as he crossed his legs instinctively.

True, the carpet and the weapons didn't seem like decorations that would compliment each other. But the dark red carpet that almost seemed like it was stained by blood complimented the steel grey of most of the weapons themselves. And as Shirou finally reached the end of the room, he was greeted with a wooden desk, rather Spartan as it held nothing except for a lamp that didn't seem connected to anything. A leather chair protruding from the back of it.

But the desk didn't catch his attention. It was the wooden plaque that hung from the back and onto the wall directly behind it and right in front of him and Aoko. A wooden plaque that held two schemitars, Middle Eastern swords that crossed each other as they hung on the plaque.

He had to resist the urge to vomit as he grasped them.

The one on the left was blood red, it's steel wasn't steel, but it was made of a silver. How someone got silver to dye red, he already knew. And he really didn't want to have to make a sword as red as this one.

The other sword, the one on the right, was pitch black. It seemed to suck in the light as he stared at it. Its steel, like the previous red one, wasn't steel at all, but rather a mixture of obsidian and silver.

They were both beautiful weapons, they had seen battles before, they had cut down people before, they had been wielded before. But, even though they had been wielded for the same amount of time, he knew that the red one was more dangerous than the black one. And he would rather not think about the reason behind it at all.

But he did, and he shuddered as the memories of the blades rushed into his mind.

Death, they had death smeared across their flats, their handles, and their steel. These blades were unholy, and as he recorded them into his world, he made sure it was in the farthest regions. They did not belong anywhere close to the others. No, these unholy blades were never meant for man at all.

But for some reason, a reason he could not place, they felt familiar. He tried to dig down onto their history even more, but…

"And of course, the old lady isn't here." Aoko muttered, snapping him out of his thoughts. He turned over towards Aoko and regarded her with a questioning look.

"Old lady? Who're you talking about?" He asked her. Aoko opened her mouth to speak, but he instantly sensed danger right next to him.

Now, Shirou was battle hardened, and when something suddenly appears right next to him, you'll be sure that he'll react like he was being attacked.

He traced Kanshou and Bakuya and twisted his body, both swords swinging out to strike the person that had invaded his personal space so abruptly.

He expected to hit flesh or nothing at all. What he didn't expect, was hitting steel.

With a loud clang, the sound of steel meeting steel echoed around the long room that was decorated with weapons. Shirou instantly Grasped the weapon, it was a nameless sword, but it's history was a long and winded one. It held no special properties, but as his mind glazed over the new information, he realized just how much of a dangerous situation he was in.

"Your combat instincts are commendable," An female voice sounded, and even though it sounded rather frail, Shirou knew better then to actually dig his grave deeper. "But you're raw, you have no skill, you have no pride, and you have no talent for the blade." The old woman's voice resounded as Shirou carefully backed away, taking in the sight of the woman that had criticized him.

The woman was rather short, about two heads shorter than him, and a full head shorter than Aoko. Her white cloak had an insignia of what looked like a dragon on its back. Her dark grey suit fit her rather healthy old body just fine. Fitting itself enough to show off her healthiness, but left enough to leave people imagining just how strong she was.

He stared at the old woman, carefully observing her slightly wrinkled face. He observed her brown hair that had streaks of gray slightly dominate her head, most likely due to her old age. He spotted some slight blemishes on her face, most likely old scars that had faded, but he couldn't be sure. The only thing he was sure of was that this woman was strong.

Scarily strong.

He returned his swords into his world as he narrowed his eyes at the old woman, staring right into the woman's dull green eyes. Not dull like it was blank however, dull like it had seen too much in its lifetime.

"Pride has no place in a battlefield. The only things I need are my swords, and my own will." He replied to her earlier criticizing. The old woman straightened herself as the sword that she had been holding slacked to her side. Shirou carefully watched her, his eyes darting from the woman to the sword every few seconds.

The old woman noticed this and she smiled slightly. Before she flipped the sword over and proceeded to hand it over to Shirou, the hilt facing away from her and towards Shirou. "Take it." She said, making Shirou's eyebrows crease as she said so.

The woman laughed slightly. "I've no need for it anymore. And you look like someone that would use it for what's it's intended for." She said, her eyes narrowing slightly as she finished that sentence.

Shirou carefully observed her and the sword she was handing over to him. In truth, he didn't want it. It was unholy; it was unnatural even for the blade itself to be part of his inner world. But at the same time, he couldn't help but feel that this blade was familiar.

True, the blade was bland; it didn't even have a name. But its history was steeped in blood, like most of the weapons in this room had been. This one more so than the others, but less than the ones hanging from the opposite wall.

Taking a deep breath, he shook his head. "I appreciate your kindness, but I've no need for this unholy blade. I have enough blades." He told her vaguely. It was true after all, he did have enough blades. Probably more so than the King of Heroes.

The woman raised an eyebrow at his declination of her offer. Before she merely closed her eyes and twirled the sword and sheathed it back on her waist. The sound of the sword rubbing leather echoed around the room.

The woman then turned from him and proceeded to walk over towards the back of the desk, where she promptly took a seat on the chair. Her eyes darted from him, and then over to Aoko, who had been silent the entire time they had exchanged words.

"Aoko, it's been awhile." The woman said as her voice seemed to hold slight warmth in it. Shirou took the chance and took a seat right next to Aoko's. Shifting slightly as he got another good view of the bloodied and unholy swords that hung on a plaque behind the old woman.

"I guess it has. It's been three months hasn't it grandma?" Aoko said with a smile as she crossed her legs. Her words seemed to exasperate the old woman.

"No respect whatsoever from you. I swear, you're just as bad as my granddaughter." The old woman mused as she smiled at Aoko.

Aoko scoffed, clearly not amused at the comparison. "Don't lump me together with little miss perfect. That girl's as cold as an icy wind. At least with me, you get to banter." Aoko said finishing with a smile as she did so.

Amused at her words, the woman only smiled. "I guess you're right about that. But I do wonder, why the sudden visit? The last time I saw you, Zelretch whisked you both away to that ham-"

"Don't say it!" Aoko shouted as she shuddered at the sudden return of that strange memory. No, no more hamburgers. Ever. The woman laughed warmly as she watched Aoko shudder.

Shirou watched the two talk, and truthfully, he couldn't follow on to what they were talking about. He had been lost when the woman spoke of a granddaughter, but then again, should he even be here for their reconnection?

Finally, Aoko seemed to settle down, her eyes turned serious as she stared at the old woman in front of her. Her eyes burning with a silent fire.

"I have a favor to ask." She said abruptly. The old woman raised an eyebrow. Clearly not expecting that from Aoko.

"Oh? And what pray tell, would you need so badly that you've come to me for?" The older woman asked, and Aoko bit her lower lip, before her eyes darted shortly over towards Shirou. But it happened so fast that Shirou thought he had imagined it.

"I don't need _something_. I need to _do_ something." Aoko emphasized. The woman raised an eyebrow, clearly waiting for Aoko to speak up.

Aoko took a deep breath, before she spoke. "I want my workshop here." She said as she stared straight into the woman's old eyes. Which narrowed at her declaration.

Now, Shirou wasn't a proper magus, not in the slightest, but his father did teach him some things about the magical world. Only the basics, but it was enough for him to actually realize just how big a deal Aoko's favor was.

A Magus' workshop was where they kept their secrets, where they learned to control their magic, it was the most sacred of places a Magus had. And asking someone's permission to set-up a workshop meant that the requester was asking the second owner of the land, to actually intrude upon their lot so they could research.

The old woman reclined into her seat, her eyes closed as if in thought. Finally, after what seemed like an hour for Aoko, the woman opened one eye and stared at her.

"This favor is one that I cannot grant Aoko." The woman stated, Aoko opened her mouth to fight, but the woman merely stared at Aoko, her green eyes piercing Aoko, freezing her. "It is not because I do not want to Aoko. But it is because you have denied all previous offers about having your workshop here."

Aoko squirmed in her seat. It was true after all, the Clock Tower's previous advances on her about setting up her workshop in the Clock Tower were denied by her. Not because she didn't find the offers appealing, on the contrary, having the full support of the Association in your research whilst having a large resource of knowledge in the form of the Clock Tower's library tempted her so much. But in the end, she had denied all the offers. All because of the condition they had set.

That she would work with her sister in their research. And that she would remain in the Clock Tower until her research was deemed enough by the higher-ups.

It was akin to a Sealing Designation, but, unlike a Sealing Designation, hers was much more lenient. She could still leave the Clock Tower, probably under the guise of furthering her research. But in the end, her freedom was existential, she would always be ordered to return. And the fact that she would have to work with her sister was enough to make her gag.

And she didn't like researching that much. She would rather teach.

"However…" The old woman's voice cut the air, snapping Aoko out of her thoughts. "I can probably pull a few strings. But the offer would be drastically different than the last one." The woman stated as she stared at Aoko unflinchingly.

Aoko took a deep breath, before she nodded her head. "State the terms." She said.

"You will receive a Sealing Designation and all your research is to be given to the Clock Tower. We will monitor you 24/7 and 365 days a year. You must work with your sister to advance your research, and you cannot leave the Clock Tower without an escort of our choosing." The woman stated coldly. And Aoko could only swallow the lump in her throat.

That was… That was-

"That's too much." Surprisingly, it wasn't Aoko that spoke up, but rather her companion. Shirou Emiya, she had honestly forgotten about him for a second after hearing those terms. But she was thankful he had spoken up. She didn't think that she could after all.

The woman turned her attention to Shirou, who, to his credit, did not flinch away as the woman's green eyes bore into him. "And who are you to speak on Aoko's behalf?" The woman said coldly.

Shirou didn't flinch as he just spoke. "I'm her student. And those terms are too much, forcing her to stay here and work with a sister she doesn't like is pushing it." Shirou said.

Aoko would have been impressed, that is, until she remembered who he was talking to.

"I'm sorry Lady Barthomeloi. But my stud-"

"Silence. I'm still speaking with him." The woman now recognized as Barthomeloi ordered, and Aoko immediately stopped her mouth from moving.

Barthomeloi looked at Shirou, before she spoke up. "I am open to renegotiations, state the terms you think your teacher will find comfortable."

Shirou's eyes widened in disbelief, in truth, he didn't really think when he spoke up. But he saw that Aoko was pretty much condemned with those conditions, and so, him being who he was, tried to save her, he stated his opinion, and now it was coming to bite him in the-

He cut himself off from those thoughts, now was not the time. He needed to think fast. He really did not know what to say, and as he stared at his would be teacher, he realized that she too was at a loss of what to do.

Barthemeloi seemed to take his silence as an answer. "If you have no answer, then my offer will remain, you can either acc-"

"Aoko will not work with her sister, and she can leave whenever she wants to. She may also choose which research material she may submit to the Clock Tower." He wanted to ask just what was a 'Sealing Designation.' But the old Barthomeloi might not take too kindly to his ignorance.

Barthomeloi did not miss a beat as she spoke up once more. "Denied. Those terms are too light." She said without missing a single beat.

Shirou took a deep breath, in truth. He really did not know what the hell he was doing. He shouldn't even be doing this, but he couldn't help but reach out and help Aoko.

The look she had when the terms were brought up, it was the same look Rin had when they were in the graveyard, right after Archer had betrayed her. He would never forget the look she had, she was broken, she was betrayed, and most of all, she was defeated.

He didn't want to see her like that, so he had done the only thing he could have done. He offered her a slight chance of hope. It had been a long shot, but it was enough. It was enough to return some pep into that girl.

He cleared his mind, he was thinking back to his time again. Now was not the time to think about Rin, now it was about his teacher, Aoko.

"Then by all means Lady Barthomeloi, feel free to offer something else." He said as calmly as he could. Really, negotiating was Rin's forte, not his.

He mentally smacked himself again, why couldn't he stop thinking about Rin?

The old Barthomeloi narrowed her eyes at him, clearly stating that he had done something that was wrong. "I asked you for what you thought would be appropriate conditions for your teacher. Do not ask my opinion." She warned him. And he clearly understood what he had done wrong.

He was given a chance to change the outcome, but he had knocked that chance away.

He took a glance at Aoko, who signaled for him to cut his losses and just stop.

"I…" He trailed, a suddenly clarity overtook him, and he changed what he was going to say. This was going to be very good, or very bad, either way. He would leave negotiations to Ri- "I believe I'm confused right now." He said, cutting off his train of thought before it had completed.

The old Barthomeloi raised an eyebrow, her dull green eyes drilling into Shirou's golden brown ones. "And what is there to be confused about?" She asked, her voice deathly quiet. He was threading on thin ground right now.

He spared a glance at Aoko once more, and clearly, she was signaling for him to cut back right now, her frantic red eyes almost pleading for him to stop.

But he couldn't, he didn't like seeing that kind of defeated face on someone around him. That look was one who was resigned to their fate, their destiny that would forever be unchanging.

He detested that look with all his heart.

"You-" He cut himself off as he licked his now dry lips. This really was not his forte. If only Ri- Damn it. "You said you would pull a few strings, strings that would ensure Aoko would get better conditions." He stated, and the old Barthomeloi narrowed her eyes at him once more.

"Your point being?" She asked him, clearly waiting for him to go somewhere with this line of thinking.

"That means that you care enough to actually see to it she is comfortable. Yet at the same time, your conditions ensure that she has less than comfortable conditions as well." He said, and if it was even possible anymore, the old Barthomeloi's eyes narrowed even more.

Small beads of sweat began to form on his forehead as he stared into the dull green eyes of Barthomeloi, before he continued, for better for worse, he would have to continue this. "If you would pull strings for her, then you would be willing to actually do something about her conditions. So I see no reason to deny my request." He stated, stopping to take a deep breath. He continued after. "Or we could leave right now, and drop all offers of Aoko's workshop to be set up in the Clock Tower."

That was it, that was his deal. That was honestly the best he could offer right now. He had no cards left.

The old Bathomeloi straightened herself before she spared a glance over towards Aoko. "Than there is nothing to do. You may leave." She said.

Shirou sighed in disappointment. It had been a long shot anyway.

"But-" Aoko began, obviously not satisfied about the outcome of the events. But Barthomeloi interrupted her.

"There is nothing that you can possibly offer to us right now aside from your future research. And as much as the Clock Tower would benefit from your research, we have survived without it for multiple millennia. We can wait." She stated as she stared straight into Aoko's red eyes.

Aoko bit her lip, this was going far worse than she could have thought. She couldn't rightly teach Shirou magic without being inside the Clock Tower. She did not have the resources for outside teaching. Not since she had left her family.

She opened her mouth to take the previous offer of being Designated and giving her research to the Clock Tower. But the old Barthomeloi spoke up once more.

"But I believe I can work something out." The old Barthomeloi stated, garnering Shirou's and Aoko's attention. They raised their heads to stare at her, waiting for her compromise.

The old Barthomeloi then turned over towards Shirou, needless to say, he did not like the look the old woman was giving him.

"You will meet my granddaughter, and you will fight her." She stated. And Aoko's blood ran cold.

Damn, this old woman was cra-

"I'll do it." Shirou stated, interrupting Aoko's train of thoughts. It took a moment, but Aoko finally realized what he had said.

"No!" Aoko shouted as she stood up, surprising Shirou, and making the old Barthomeloi smile cryptically at her.

"Very well. I'll call for her, you may meet her in classroom cE in five hours." The old Barthomeloi stated, ignoring her outburst completely.

Damn it. This really didn't turn out like anything she had thought of. Even her worst thought was nothing compared to this.

**XxX**

**Yeah. Done. And just a note for you readers. This old Barthomeloi is not Lorelei, this is her (OC) grandmother. She will be expanded upon in the next few chapters. But you at least know that she likes weapons that seem familiar to Shirou. Weapons that are unholy, and had seen multiple battles before.**

**As for Shirou's negotiating, like he stated. This is not his forte, it is Rin's. He only acted upon the impulse of it as he saw Aoko's face, which resembled Rin's when she had been betrayed.**

**Nothing more to add here. But I do hope you guys like it. This has been proofread to the best of my ability. But then again, that's just a fancy way of saying that I skimmed it. Again.**

**Anyway, I'd like to give a shout out to the Anon reviewer Gruffy. His reviews give good insight, and he's like, one of the only people that can give me honest to goodness amazing reviews. Not that I'm picky, but reviews that say this fic is 'awesome' and 'great' is, while flattering, not really helping with my mistakes. If you feel that it's lackluster, please don't hesitate to tell me. But there is one thing I draw the line at when it comes to reviews, and that is in regards to my spelling and grammar. I know it's not perfect, and I'm trying to improve it. So don't bother pointing it out unless it is so horrid that it is unreadable anymore.**

**Anyway, yeah. Thanks to everyone that reviewed, followed, and favorited. Honestly, only three chapters in, and I've had 81 favs, 112 followers, and 47 reviews. Let's see if I can double that in the next few chapters.**

**C.O.Y.L out, peace!**


	5. Differences

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

**Right, you know what I should not have done? Played Katawa Shoujo. Don't get me wrong. It is an amazing game, with amazing characters. But seriously. It's made me want to write a one-shot of it. Which is currently in the works right now. My OTP there is Hisao and Hanako. But Lilly is a close second. Anyway, look out for that fic when it's finished. And it will be my first M rated fic, no lemons, but there will be nudity and mature themes. And to those wondering, I'm 18 now, I'm perfectly legal. At least, in concerns to my laws.**

**But yeah, Hanako's end left much to be desired. Wish they expanded upon it, they could have gone further.**

**XxX**

"Are you crazy?!" Aoko shouted as she berated Shirou for the, actually, she had lost count.

Shirou rubbed his ears at her next outburst, after they had scheduled the fight and left the old Barthomeloi to her planning of the fight, Aoko took him aside and began to shout at him.

And by shout at him, he meant just that.

He had been called, so far, and idiot, stupid, crazy, had no brain, crazy, dim, thick, crazy, and did he mention crazy? But as she screamed at him and insulted him, there was one thing she left out.

"Why am I crazy?" He asked her, and it was enough for her to close her mouth. Satisfied that he had a brief respite, he let out a sigh.

But alas, it wouldn't last long.

"Lorelei Barthomeloi," Aoko began, her voice low as she closed her eyes as if in recollection. Shirou eyed her curiously, waiting for her explanation as to why he was crazy. "The next in line to inherit the Barthomeloi crests, also next in line to be the vice-director of the Clock Tower. Amongst all her brothers, sisters, cousins, uncles, aunts, she is the strongest, the strongest in multiple generations actually." Aoko stated, her voice slightly low, as if what she was saying wasn't really meant for the ears for others.

Shirou had to raise an eyebrow at her trying to be innocuous, if this was really supposed to be a secret, should they even be discussing this in the Clock Tower's cafeteria?

Another batch of students passed by them, not giving them a glance as they just walked away, but Aoko seemed to sigh as she shakes her head. "Well, there's not stopping this now. You have five hours to think of a way to surrender without looking too weak-"

"Who said I'll surrender?" Shirou said, his language reverting back to Japanese. Aoko raised an eyebrow at his answer, but as she opened her mouth to rebuke him for being 'crazy', he stopped her by raising his own hand, gesturing for her to stop and listen to him.

"Listen Aoko," He started in Japanese as he looked around the cafeteria, satisfied that he saw no one even bothering to look at them, he continued. "I've been trained, trained to fight unrestrained, and that's how I'm going to fight this 'Lorelei'" He finished as he put air quotes as he said the name Lorelei, as if it was a title.

But Aoko wasn't convinced, she crossed her arms and glared at him, but Shirou did not flinch away, instead, he looked directly back at her, as if in defiance to what she is about to say.

"Oh really? And who trained you to fight? The last I remember, your father hadn't really thought you much." Aoko stated as she narrowed her eyes at Shirou, as if daring for him to rebuke her.

He did so without flinching. "I was trained in battle," He began, and Aoko's eyes softened somewhat. "I've fought against people – beings – that would just bat an eyelash at most magi and then walk away from them laughing. I've fought against heroes Aoko, I've put my life on the line, for my ideals, for my friends, and for my future." He told her, unflinchingly.

Aoko's eyes lost her fire, and she could only sigh. She wasn't going to win this one, not by a long shot. "Well," she began, her voice this time restrained to the fact that he would not back down. "At least you have the edge on her in regards to experience. Lorelei hasn't really been allowed to fight against Dead Apostles yet, and most Barthomeloi are trained inside their mansions until they are deemed ready by their elders that they can go out into the world. I hear that this is because they dislike imperfection, and want perfection in everything." Aoko said, her voice almost like a gossiping school girls.

Shirou raised an eyebrow. "And you know this how?" He asked her, and Aoko only huffed in annoyance.

"I've had the pleasure of actually talking to Lorelei before. Trust me, she has a gigantic stick up her ass, you can't miss her." She stated, as if that was enough to answer his question.

Shirou only shook his head and sighed. That didn't really answer anything, but at least he can trust her word for it. I mean, she is his teacher, and teachers don't really lead their students astray.

He reacher out for the tea that he had ordered before, most likely cold now, and placed it upon his lips. He took a sip of the lukewarm tea, and he couldn't help but let out a sigh.

"You kno-"

"Excuse me." A sudden voice to his right made him jump slightly. Seriously? This was the third time this has happened. Shouldn't his senses be sharp enough to actually detect someone approaching?

He turned and looked up, surprised to see a rather well-dressed young man with blonde hair slicked back, his green eyes pierced his golden ones, and the man's stance itself seemed to radiate the aura of someone that wouldn't talk to you unless you actually have something that gets his attention.

"Yes?" He asked the man tentatively, observing him as he looked him up and down. He wore a dark blue cloak that looked and felt like something that would protect, not just from the weather, but also from blows that would be meant to debilitate. But not only that, it's royal blue also gave him a sense of individualism. Whoever this man was, he clearly thought highly of himself, judging from his clothes and the way he holds himself.

Aoko, finally taking in the sight of the well dressed young man, could not help but utter a groan. Which seemed to irk the man, and confuse Shirou as to why she would groan.

"Oh great, if it isn't Mister Pretty boy." Aoko muttered, trying to say it silently, but whether she wanted him to hear it, or the man merely heard it, he didn't know. What he did know however, was that the man seemed rather put off by Aoko's name for him.

"Ah yes, Miss Blue. A pleasure to see you as well." The man said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. Aoko only rolled her eyes at the man, clearly nonplussed by his attempt to get under her skin.

"You two know each other?" Shirou asked Aoko, and Aoko could only nod, though weakly.

"Unfortunately I do, I've had the pleasure of working with him a few years ago, when we were hunting for Dead Apostles. I'm still rather surprised actually," Aoko trailed as she got the man's attention once more. "Why would the heir of the Archibald family actually demean themselves to actually hunt for a Dead Apostle at all? Quite the question, no?" Aoko said, her voice detached as she looked at Shirou dead in the eyes.

The act only further confused him. "Uhh…" He trailed, unsure if he should voice his question. Before long however, he shrugged his shoulders and marched forward. "What's a Dead Apostle?" He asked, sheepishly smiling at Aoko.

Aoko only smiled at him, her eyes filling with unbidden mirth. "Right, forgot. I still have yet to teach you anything." She stated as she looked at Shirou, who could only respond through blushing. Not by Aoko's stare, but at being caught once more being ignorant.

"While I would hate to break this wonderful student-teacher interaction…" The man made himself known once more, and Shirou turned his head, whilst Aoko could only roll her eyes. "I believe I still have some matters to discuss post-haste." He stated as he looked down at Shirou, his hands now behind his back as Shirou stared up into the man's green eyes.

"Whatever you have to say Lord El-Melloi, I believe it can wait until later. My student and I are still busy discussing important matters that relates to his survival." Aoko stated as she stood up and proceeded to usher the now named El-Melloi away.

At least, that was what she tried to do. But a hand stopped her, a hand that made Shirou instantly stand up, Kanshou and Bakuya already traced into his hands and ready to lunge at the owner of the hand.

It smelt like, regret, it smelt like remorse, it smelt like, roses, and it smelt like, a curse.

Yes, there was no mistaking the entity that the hand belonged to.

His Command Sigils began glowing, its unholy red shining in the air as he held Bakuya in his right hand.

"Ah, I believe you were right on the mark Lancer." El-Melloi addressed the Servant Lancer. Who still had his hand on Aoko.

Shirou glanced over towards the Servant. He saw that he was wearing a dark green body suit, decorated with lines in Celtic fashion, the suit that was familiar to him, because he had seen a similar one, a blue one worn by Cú Chulainn when he was-

Again he cut himself off from those thoughts, it wouldn't help right now. Whoever this man was, he was a Servant. His orange eyes and slick quirky black hair gave him a handsome image, borderline beautiful, and the mole under his right eye, shaped like a grain of tear seemed to emit faint traces of magic.

"Let me introduce myself formally, from one Master to the other." Shirou shifted his eyes from Lancer, over towards El-Melloi. His eyes narrowed, he would be able to cover the distance from here in a second. But his Servant might be able to react fast enough to block his strikes. No, he couldn't risk fighting a Servant here. Not with all these people still in the cafeteria watching them.

"My name is Kayneth El-Melloi Archibald. And I have come to discuss with you the Fourth Grail War." The man – Kayneth – finally introduced himself, and with a bow, Shirou returned both Noble Phantasms into his world.

He can't risk a fight, no, not with all these people still watching, and most certainly not when Aoko is still being held by the Servant.

Kayneth straightened himself, before he locked eyes with Shirou once more. His eyes seemed to be expecting something, and he realized what it was. His name.

He resisted the urge to squirm under his eyes, he hadn't thought of a name yet. No, he already had a name. But Aoko's explanation of the name Emiya made him hesitate.

He cast a glance over to Aoko, and their eyes met. Aoko merely shrugged at him. He was alone on this. Well, the least he can do is at least give him his first name.

"Just call me Shirou." Was all he said as he bowed.

**Fate: Zero/Night**

**XxX**

Aoko and Shirou were both ushered into a room, by the Servant known as Lancer.

Strangely enough, in deep contrast to the brash attitude of the previous Lancer Shirou had known, this Lancer seemed to be more gentlemanly, as well as have good manners to offer them some tea and a seat while they wait for Kayneth.

And speaking of the blonde man, he had told them both that he would be following them, he just had a tiny piece of business to attend to.

As Shirou took a seat on the velvet red lounge chair, he carefully glanced around the room, looking for ways to escape, should they actually need to.

'_Let's see, no windows, only one door, a lot of bookshelves with a lot of books, yeah. This was the kind of room I was expecting to see when I imagine a Magus in the Clock Tower.'_ Shirou thought as he carefully observed his surroundings.

The room itself was rather dark and bland. It looked more like a mini-library than a room actually, what with all the books strewn about on the floor and on the desk in front of him. The desk itself wasn't something spectacular, a quick glance and a quick Structural Grasp gave him all the knowledge he could about the desk.

It was mahogany, it was made by one damn fine craftsman, and that was all it had to its name.

And as he looked around the room, he heard the seat next to him get occupied, he turned his head, and gave the one seated a small smile.

She could only sigh as she crossed her legs and arms, clearly un-amused at the suddenness of this meeting.

"Hey Aoko?" Shirou began, garneing the brown haired woman's attention. She turned her head lazily and raised one eyebrow at him, indicating for him to continue.

"So, uhh, what's a Dead Apostle?" He didn't really want to know what a Dead Apostle was, but right now, there was nothing else they could do except wait for Kayneth to talk to them.

Aoko only sighed before she shifted slightly, and then faced Shirou. "Vampires." Was what she said to him? And he could only raise an eyebrow at that.

"What?" He asked her, clearly taken aback at the brief explanation. He heard someone chuckle behind him, and this made him aware once more that there were three people in the room.

'_Right, almost forgot about you. His presence isn't as demanding the previous Servants, but still, he carries himself well.'_ Shirou thought as he glanced behind him, staring at Lancer who was merely standing there, watching over them both.

The man seemed to notice him staring, and he let out a small smirk at him, almost as if taunting him? No, that wasn't right, he was merely amused that he was being observed.

"They're basically Vampires. It'll take too long to explain how they're Vampires, so I'll just leave it at that. I'll teach you about them if I get my workshop." Aoko stated, and Shirou shifted his attention back to the brown haired woman.

"Don't you mean when?" He asked her, a small smile forming on his lips. Aoko merely sighed; clearly she wasn't amused by his attempt at humor. His smiled disappeared as he stared at her, she noticed this and she only shook her head.

"Not that I don't trust you to give your all," Aoko stated, justifying herself. "It's just that I trust Lorelei more to actually give you a run for your money. Little Miss Perfect won't hold back, an-"

"And again Aoko, neither will I. Can you just relax and trust me?" Shirou interrupted her, exasperated at her lack of trust in him.

Aoko seemed put-off by his exasperation, but as she opened her mouth to rebuke him. Lancer interrupted her. "He's right you know," He stated, and Aoko turned towards him and scowled. "You should trust your lover." He stated with a ghost of a smile on his face.

If Aoko was affected by the teasing, she didn't show it. "I don't think you're part of this conversation Sir Mole." She said as she huffed. Shirou could only raise an eyebrow at that name. But before he could ask her about it, she continued her sentence. "And you know that he isn't my lover, didn't your Master say we have a student-teacher relationship?" She asked rhetorically, clearly displeased at Lancer's butting in.

Lancer raised an eyebrow at his new nickname, but nonetheless, pressed on without worrying about it too much. "I apologize for my confusion, it's just that you two act like lovers, and there have been some instances where students and teachers fell in love with each other before." He said as he bowed in apology at Aoko, who only huffed at his chivalry.

"And," Lancer began again as he straightened himself, staring at Aoko with mirth in his eyes. "You certainly have a penchant for nicknames don't you?" He half-asked/half-stated. And Shirou couldn't help but stifle a chuckle.

Aoko narrowed her eyes as she glared once more at Lancer. "I only give nicknames to those I don't like. You're included in that category Sir Mole." She stated, annoyed at having her habit of naming people at first glance pointed out.

"What's his nickname then?" Lancer pointed over to Shirou, who raised an eyebrow as he saw him smirk sardonically. Aoko followed his finger over towards him, and she seemed to freeze slightly.

Lancer noticed the freeze and couldn't help but smirk and cross his arms in triumph. "So I was right," He stated, Aoko glared at him, daring him to continue his sentence. He was nonplussed as he chuckled. "Only to those she doesn't like. Ha!"

Shirou was lost now, what did he mean by that? And more importantly, he really wanted to know what Aoko's nickname for him now. "Hey, what's my nickname?" He pushed on, and Aoko only glanced at him, her eyes softening slightly, before she looked away.

This action surprised Shirou, that look in her eyes was so foreign there, that he had thought he had imagined it. But he knew enough about women to tell that when they wanted to drop the subject, he really should. Rin made sure of that.

And there he goes again, remembering the past/future that most likely will not happen again. Why can't he stop thinking about it? Stop thinking about Rin? He was about to save the world, yet he feels empty about it. Why was that?

Before he delved deeper into these feelings however, the door creaked, signaling that, one: it needed to be oiled, and two: that Kayneth or someone else had arrived.

He turned his head to stare at the door, and just like he thought, Kayneth was making his way over with a small smile on his face. Lancer made his way over towards the door he had entered in and pushed it close. Kayneth moved past the lounge chairs occupied by Shirou and Aoko, and then proceeded to sit down on his own velvet chair right behind the desk in front of them.

For awhile, no one said a word; they each only stared at one another, the tension in the room rising as they did so.

Finally, Kayneth broke the silence as he waved his right hand over the wooden mahogany desk. And right after he had finished waving his hand, a bottle of wine, and three glasses materialized right on it.

'_Okay, did not expect that…'_ Shirou thought as he watched him pour wine in all three glasses. And it was the truth, he had grasped the desk already, and he didn't see anything that would indicate that it was hollow inside, it was just a standard wooden desk. So he couldn't help but ask,

"How did you do that?" He asked Kayneth, who raised his blonde eyebrow at his question.

"Excuse me?" He asked, not sure he understood the question. Shirou leaned forward and put a hand on the desk, once more Structurally Grasping the desk once more, and there really wasn't anything special about this desk.

"If you're asking about the wine and the glasses, then I do believe that it's not something I have the liberty of revealing." Kayneth said with a slight smirk, which only made Shirou nod his head. Obviously, he had done something wrong. And then he thought about the question, he had just asked a Magus how one of their mysteries worked.

Yeah, if his father hadn't instilled in his mind that asking other mages about their mysteries was a big no-no. Then he would still be sitting here asking how he had done that.

But to his surprise however, he heard Kayneth chuckle. "It's not what you think. I cannot reveal it because my dear little cousin simply likes to see me pull out different objects from my desk. She had asked me multiple times already how I do it, and not once have I told her. To reveal it to you before my cousin would most likely make her mad, and would go against my love for my family." Kayneth stated, and Shirou conceded as he leaned back, satisfied with his answer.

"So in other words, 'A magician never reveals his secrets'? Real original Pretty boy." Aoko said, clearly still rather put-off that they had been interrupted before hand.

Kayneth chuckled as he moved a glass of wine over towards the front of both of them. "Yes quite." He said. Taking a sip of the wine as he gestured for them to do the say. "Please, take it as an peace offering. I only want to talk, there is no need to act so hostile." Kayneth stated, confidence in his voice.

"Sorry, I don't drink. I'm still underage." Shirou stated as he rubbed the nape of his neck, unsure of how to make out this strange meeting.

"Likewise, though I just don't drink." Aoko stated as she leaned back once more, her arms crossed over her chest and her legs crossed as well.

Kayneth seemed amused at their refusal, before he proceeded to sip his wine even more, taking his time as he did so. And as he finished his rather drawn out sip, he turned back towards them, his eyes now narrowed and calculating. "I'll get to the point, since clearly you two have a previous engagement to see to." He stated, his voice now low and cold as he stared at Shirou, particularly at his right hand.

"You see, I am unlike most Magi in the Clock Tower-" At his words, Aoko snorted as if disbelieving of his words, he stopped to raise an eyebrow at her, but she merely signaled for him to continue. "As I was saying, I am unlike the others in the Clock Tower. I hold no ill will towards our mages that have Eastern descent. In fact, I admire them, they work so hard so that they will be recognized." He said, slight amusement in his voice.

It was lost to Shirou, and Aoko merely clicked her tongue in frustration. "Listen, we really have to get going, if you can so kindly get to the point?" Aoko insisted, her patience being stretched thin.

Kayneth merely let scowled as he put his glass down on the table. His face morphing to one of displeasure. "I did not think I would have to remind you Miss Blue. But right now, you are in no position to actually insist anything on me. For you see," He snapped his fingers, and almost immediately, Aoko felt something prick at the back of her head. Something sharp, something dangerous, and something that can kill her should she actually move.

Shirou stood up, resisting the urge to trace Kanshou and Bakuya as he saw Aoko held by spear point. Lancer had covered the distance in the span of a second, and he had materialized his spear wrapped in cloth so that he could threaten Aoko.

Shirou willed himself not to do anything rash, but as he stood there, he grit his teeth in frustration. He can't do anything in this situation, he can't save Aoko without killing her. So annoyed he was that he cursed himself, he cursed his sluggish-ness, his trusting of this man, and most of all, he cursed that he could Trace the red-tipped spear Lancer was holding.

He couldn't Trace it, because it was wrapped in cloth, and without a clear view of the weapon, he was stuck guessing as to what it really was. It was a Noble Phantasm, no doubt about it, but which one?

"Right now, I have a Servant, and I have the upper hand." Kayneth finished his previous sentence, his gaze shifted from Aoko and then over to Shirou. "If you would like to complain, now would be a good time to do so, if not, then we will continue our meeting. Hopefully without interruptions." At this, Kayneth eyed Aoko, clear disdain on his face as he stared at her. "And I do not care if you use your Magic here Miss Blue. My Servant is someone that can fight most mages and win. Heroic Spirit or not." Kayneth warned as he saw Aoko's hair start shifting to a red hue.

Shirou sat down, but not without giving Aoko a side-wards glance, telling her that he had this, and she should stand down. Aoko seemed to get the message, and her circuits immediately started to cool down. The red hue in her hair began to fade, and soon enough, Aoko was back to her calm self, quietly glaring at Kayneth.

The spear on the back of her head disappeared, and Shirou relaxed even more, good. If this could go smoothly…

"I will not stall anymore." Kayneth stated, and Shirou looked up at him, their eyes locked, green on gold, and Shirou saw something in them that he was familiar with. After all, he had the same eyes before.

He had conviction.

"I've come to wish my opponent luck, for when the Fourth Grail War begins, there will be no stopping me as I try to kill him." He stated as he stared at Shirou. He tilted his head, clearly it took him by surprise, not because he wasn't expecting that, no, he knew that was what he was going to say the moment he saw his eyes. No, what surprised him was the sentence he spoke himself.

"I see you are confused, well, allow me to shed some light on the subject." Kayneth began, interrupting Shirou as he opened his mouth to ask why he was doing this. "In the Grail War, we are all equals, no matter if you be of Noble birth, or of normal humans. Should you be chosen as a Master, I will recognize you as my equal." He stated, giving Shirou pause to think about what he had said.

"With that said however," He continued, and Shirou looked at him once more. "When the War starts, I will stop at nothing to destroy you and see to it that my victory is assured." He finished as he stared at Shirou, his eyes holding a hidden deadliness in them.

Shirou had to give it to him, he was honorable. Too bad however, that pride and honor do not belong in the battlefield.

"You must be wondering why I'm being so conflicting in my words. Well, I assure you that I am not. Right now, I hold no ill will against you; you are merely my guest as we discuss the upcoming war that will pit us both together." He said as he glanced over towards Aoko, who was staring at him impassively. "But when the Grail War starts, you will become my enemy. And I will kill you. Easy to understand isn't it?" He chuckled as he signaled for Lancer to his side.

Almost immediately after he put his hand down, Lancer was right next to him, his handsome face stoic as he stared at Shirou and at Aoko.

"Let us meet on the battlefield when the time calls for it Shirou. For I look forward to fighting you." He stated as he picked up his glass once more and raised it as if to toast. He took a sip, and Shirou only stared at him, his face as stoic as the Servant Lancer right next to his opponent.

"Now, I believe I have held you long enough. You may leave. But please, take the wine with you. My gift to you." He said as he moved the bottle of wine over to Shirou, who tentatively wrapped his hands around the neck of the bottle.

Quietly, both Shirou and Aoko stood up, and left the room without much fuss. They did not look back, and Kayneth only smiled furtively as he stared at their retreating backs.

And as they both exited the room, Lancer turned towards his Master, raising an eyebrow in question. Kayneth only let out a small laugh as he did so.

"Do not get me wrong Lancer. I will kill them, but not here and certainly not now. There will come a time when I will kill him however, so ease your mind." Kayneth stated as he finished the last of his wine and placed the glass on the table.

"Actually, I agree with you Master, it's just that I did not expect you to be so… Kind to them." Lancer searched for the correct word, and that was the closest that he could think of for his Master's approach on the enemy Master.

Kayneth's response was to chuckle. "Like I said Lancer, I have my pride. I will fight and kill him on the battlefield; I will not stood so low as to attack an enemy Master without a Servant and before the Grail War has officially started."

Lancer couldn't help but smile at his Master. "Well, at least I have a Master that has some sense of honor." He stated as he disappeared into mist, turning into spirit form.

Kayneth's smile dropped at his words. Before he let out a dismissive sigh. Pride and honor did not go hand in hand. Should the chance arise that he can take out a Servant or Master that is a threat, he will take it. That is all there is to it.

**XxX**

"He won't win."

Those were the first words Shirou's mouth as he walked beside Aoko. Surprising the brown haired woman at the suddenness of his declaration.

Aoko raised an eyebrow as she walked right beside him; they were currently looking for a quiet place, not just to discuss what just happened, but also to discuss his fight with the heir of the Barthomeloi line.

"What makes you say that?" Aoko asked him as they turned a corner, seeing a bench, she motioned for Shirou to follow him, and soon enough, they were both seated, not the most inconspicuous of places, seeing as they were still in the hallway. But there was barely anyone walking down this hallway, sans for a janitor, the only ones in this hallway were Aoko, Shirou, and three students on the other side of the hallway.

As Shirou took a seat, he stretched his arms over his head, feeling and hearing his shoulders pop, he let out a sigh of satisfaction. He then turned towards Aoko, who had a disgruntled look on her face. "That isn't healthy you know." Aoko stated, clearly displeased at his popping of his shoulders.

Shirou only shrugged before he ignored her subsequent glare.

"He won't win because he has pride." He stated, changing the subject back to its original point. Aoko once more, raised an eyebrow.

"You see, when you have pride, you hold back against those you see that are lower than you." He stated. Aoko raised an eyebrow. That was weird, didn't he say that-

"And that's the weird part. He said that I'm his equal, and that he won't hold back. Either he's playing us for fools, or he's extremely dim-witted. My bet is on the former." Shirou stated as he crossed his arms. Clearly this was a new experience for him, he had fought a war before, but no one had really got into his head. Except for Archer, but then again, his was decisive, this one was just random. In fact, it was so random that he doubted that the meeting was really random in the first place.

It gave him a headache just thinking about it. But he needed to think about it, because if he didn't, he would die. Really, this War was shaping to be vastly different than his previous one. By quite a large margin at that.

"Either way," Aoko's voice cut his thoughts off, and he turned towards the brown haired woman. "Now isn't the time to think about the War. Right now, you have a battle to think about." Aoko stated as she stood up and began to walk away from the bench, leaving Shirou alone with his thoughts.

Scratch that previous thought. The War wasn't the only thing that was different. His life was. He idly wondered if he should change his Aria to compensate, but he decided against it. He really had no idea how his Marble worked, and he wouldn't touch it until he had at least some knowledge about it.

But life was vastly different now, that was for sure.

**XxX**

**In regards to Kayneth. Nah. I won't talk about him. I'll just say that he is messing with Shirou's mind, whether this be intentional or completely by accident, I won't say as of yet.**

**Next chapter will be the Lorelei and the Shirou fight. Also some insight to Lorelei's grandmother as well.**

**And someone asked what Aoko can teach Shirou. She can teach a lot of things. I'll name some right now; she can teach him about the Association, about the Church, about the Dead Apostles, about Souls, about Magic in general. But I'll be honest, that is not why she's a teacher to Shirou here. If you read up on her, you will see that she can 'borrow' time from the future of someone. She can then implant this future to herself, or the one she's borrowing it from. She once borrowed ten years of someone's life and then implanted it on that someone to strengthen them. Now, that is all I'll say on the matter. But Aoko will be giving Shirou a chance to actually survive the Fourth war.**

**This chapter was just a preview of the following War that Shirou will experience. And Kayneth just so happens to be a good character to introduce him to some parts of it. I've planned this guys. And Kayneth won't be appearing every chapter, but I'll tell you right now. Shirou's changing, changing for the War that can and will kill him without mercy.**

**Anyway, yeah. 60 reviews for 4 chapters. That's amazing. Let's see if I can get to 70, or dare I say, 100 with this fifth one.**

**Again, don't point out spelling or grammar mistakes unless it is unreadable. I've proofread this, and as far as I can tell, it is understandable. But I will encourage you guys to be harsh with me. Come on, stop flattering me, someone knock me out of my high horse, and then I'll try to get back up on it.**

**C.O.Y.L out, peace!**


	6. The Fight

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

**I have a theory about Shirou's UBW.**

**The whole 'my body is made of blades' and the 'I am the bone of my sword' theory. I dare say, one is for the manifestation of the UBW in his body, like Kiritsugu does when he activates Accel, and the other, the 'I am the bone of my sword' aria is the one he uses to push his world into Gaia, effectively turning it into reality.**

**Get the gist of it? Don't get me wrong, both are dangerous, but Shirou, as of right now, cannot activate UBW without killing himself. He needed a contract with Rin in the first place to actually manifest it into the world. If he had done so without a contract, he would have fried his entire body and his soul if he forced himself to manifest UBW into the real world.**

**Also, we get to see a bit of Kerry in this chapter. And no. He won't be playing a big role, as of yet.**

**Some of you might hate me for this chapter. But ah well. If not for the way I portray Kerry, then most probably what happens to Lorelei. Be gentle please.**

**XxX**

When he first saw Lorelei Barthomeloi, he couldn't help but think she was extraordinarily beautiful.

Her chestnut brown hair that was just a tad lighter than Aoko's own was tied into a ponytail behind her head, it ran down her back and stopped just below her upper back. Her brown eyes that seemed to take in everything around her gave the impression that she wanted nothing more than to get this over with and end it quick.

Her white coat made her look aristocratic, with the large red frilly tie in hanging around her neck. Her red pants that cut itself off from her knees not because it was short, but because it was inside her brown boots gave Shirou the impression that either she didn't care what she looked like, or she was dressed that way for a fight.

He was leaning towards the latter.

Her right hand had a silver gauntlet attached to it, whilst she left had nothing but her bare hand. The whip she had on her hip when he first saw her almost made him cringe, if his previous relationships with women were anything to go by, then she would likely be using that whip.

All in all, he thought of her as a beautiful woman that seemed rather put-off with having to fight someone.

A dangerously beautiful woman that is.

It was then that he remembered where he was, and cursed himself for allowing his thoughts to drift. He turned back towards his opponent…

And he felt something nip at his shoulders.

With a loud gasp of pain, he rolled just in time as a wave of cutting air whipped past the area he was just standing on. Leaving nothing but a deep cut on the ground he had stood on.

He was starting to agree with Aoko. He really was crazy to actually accept this fight.

Instincts took over, and he immediately retraced Kanshou and Bakuya into their respective hands. Raising both swords in front of him, he crossed both blades in an attempt to block the incoming blow.

With a powerful gust of wind, Lorelei's extendable mystic code whip crashed into the degraded Noble Phantasms. The gust was powerful as he made Shirou struggle under the weight of the whip itself, even though the whip couldn't be more then a few pounds.

As the gusts of wind settled down, Shirou took the opportunity to push back the whip and deliver his own counter-offensive. He raised both swords in his hands up, sending the whip and its owner backpedaling to gain some ground. He did not let them.

He shifted his stance on the ground that he was standing on, and then he kicked it. Sending him flying towards his opponent whose eyes grew wide in surprise at his move. She tried to change course, but Shirou was already upon her.

He twisted his body in midair, and both swords, pitch black and shining white, circled around his body to cleave his opponent in two. He saw his opponent raise her whip to try and block, but it would be a futile effort.

With a loud grunt as he forced all his momentum into the point of impact. Shirou's swords collided with Lorelei's whip. To his surprise however, the whip did not snap in two. It only bent around the blades, straining to keep the energy from the swing from doing any lasting damage on its owner.

But it did not stop all the force however. His strike was powerful enough to overpower a low level Servant. So Lorelei blocking the strike actually sent her flying towards the direction the direction his swords would have taken should he had thrown them.

Lorelei's feet rose off of the ground, and soon, she was flying. Her body crouched in a low position as she sailed through the air. After a few seconds of staying airborne, she managed to right herself in midair and force one of her feet down on the ground. It acted as a makeshift anchor and soon enough, her speed started to slow down as her foot skid on the ground, sending dirt and gravel flying as she did so.

Shirou took in the sight of her recovering and made his move. He ran forward, intent on not giving her a moment's respite. His left hand raised into the air as he ran, he threw it down as he began getting closer to her. Kanshou sailed from his left hand and over towards the still recovering Lorelei. She watched in morbid fascination as the sword came straight at her, and the only thing she could think of doing in that situation was to raise her whip to her side, and attempt to hit it in midair in hope of deflecting it from its course.

She didn't get to do so however, as the sword immediately started to slow, before it arched backwards and came straight back to Shirou, who already had his left hand up, ready to catch the blade.

Lorelei seemed to see what was going to happen, and she couldn't help but let out a small smile. She finally stopped, both feet planted on the ground, her stare forward, and her face contorted into a small smile. Her opponent was something else.

But she wouldn't let him have this, no. She will win this. Quietly muttering the only defensive spell she could conjure in the brief moments before her opponent was upon her; she looked up, her smile gone from her face.

As her opponent finally reached her, she raised her arm and brought down her whip in a slashing motion. And almost immediately after she had done so, a strong gust of wind broke out from the ground itself. The gust took her opponent by surprise as it careened him backwards; his raised left hand never got the chance to be brought down as he was flipped backwards like rag-doll, landing like a heap on the floor a good ways away from her.

She couldn't stop herself from smiling, this was beyond her expectations to say the least, and more and more, she was finding this man quite strong, he was close to impressing her.

Shirou carefully stood up, gasping for air as his lungs burned, he landed face first on the ground, and he had let out a large amount of air as he did so. And as he stood up once more, he glared at the woman in front of him, her smiling face adding wood to the fire that was his rage.

No, not rage, but he really, really, really wanted to win.

He wouldn't stop, he can't stop. He thought back, to seeing Aoko look so desperately like Rin, her face defeated, her shoulders slumped, her entire body said that she was done, she would accept her Fate.

No, he would change that, he would save her. If he just allowed someone to sacrifice so much for him, so they could train him, he wouldn't be able to live with himself. He lived to save people, and he would do just that.

Wiping away the trail of blood that came from his mouth with his sleeve, he carefully breathed in and out. He wasn't heaving, so the shock of the landing was probably the most damage it had done. He carefully took his eyes off his opponent and observed his surroundings. Looking for a way to get the upper hand without much trouble.

His eyes darted left and right, carefully observing the classroom that, for all intents and purposes, looked like an open courtyard of a school in the British countryside. He had no idea how this classroom looked like it was outside, with the sun shining, wind blowing, and clouds lazily streaking across the sky, and he didn't care. He took in the trees that were just outside the general area, and he could faintly hear birds chirping and insects rustling in the leaves. The trees would be too far to try to use, his opponent had the advantage of range on him, so running straight for them would be akin to wearing a bulls-eye on his back. Maybe he could use the ground itself? The ground wasn't really solid, as it was composed of gravel and dirt, no cement or wood to hinder attempts to try and guide his opponents to a ditch. But then again, his opponent had just used the ground itself to force a gust of wind towards him. Maybe he could surprise her with two sets of Kanshou and Bakuya? That last tactic seemed to work well enough, she wouldn't be expecting-

He couldn't finish the thought as another wave of razor sharp wind buffeted his back.

He hadn't been expecting that, no, an attack from behind wasn't something he could have expected from his opponent. He glared at her as fell forward, he could see her victorious smile, her posture, her right hand extended to the side with her whip in it, had she used the her whip to create an arc? Maybe, but now he wouldn't know, his vision swam with darkness, and he felt the ground coming closer to his face.

Holding onto the last vestiges of his prana, he loaded the gun in his head once more, and pulled the trigger. He can't fall here, he has to save Aoko.

He felt his whole body burn; all 27 of his poor quality circuits were flooded with prana. He can't manifest his world into the real world, he just can't yet. But what he can do however was manifest it into his body. The last thought that was in his head, was that-

"My body… is made out of swords…" He muttered as he felt the ground meet his face.

**Fate: Zero/Night**

**XxX**

He was jolted awake by a hand on his shoulder. He looked to his right and stared at the owner, he let out a sigh of relief to see that it was only Aoko, her face contorted to one of disbelief. Probably because she had caught him dozing off as she was talking and pacing in front of him.

Before he went out, he remembered where they were. They were both currently in an empty classroom they had found, the room itself reminded Shirou of the lecture halls he had seen on T.V multiple times before, occupied by scientists and intellectuals trying to discern the mysteries of the universe.

The hall itself was rather spacious, with a single desk in the center of the room with an enormous blackboard behind it. The desks the students were supposed to use were all interconnected, making it one giant desk able to host multiple students at one time. And were housed like an opera house, with the desks in the front on the same level as the desk of the professor, while the desks behind it steadily being raised just enough so that the all the students could see the professor no matter where they were. He thought of how hard it would be to get to the center of these large desks, but he didn't dwell on it. It was inconsequential.

He had been sitting behind the first large desk, listening to Aoko as she talked about Lorelei, how she thought she would most likely use the wind element since her whole family were known wind mages. This had prompted a question from him, 'What is an element?'.

It was at this point that Aoko's passion for teaching actually opened, and she went on to explain how Elements determine what kind of mysteries a magus can perform. And after she had explained that, she had talked about each Element in particular, Fire, Water, Wind, Earth, and… Ather? Ether? He couldn't remember anymore.

And even after that, she went off again, telling him what countered which, which Element was divine or demonic. Tangent after tangent, Aoko explained more and more about the Magical world than Shirou would have thought possible.

But he had lost interest someway through her explanation of the Wind Element and how it was supposedly divine, and it was then did he feel himself lose consciousness. Aoko's words washing over his sleeping form.

He smiled sheepishly at her as he rubbed the back of his head. "Heh, sorry Aoko." He managed weakly, and Aoko only scowled at him.

"You should really be paying attention you know. This very well may save your life." She told him, her eyes narrowing in clear disapproval of just how lax he was.

His only response was to let out a chuckle. She did not like that.

He raised a hand in a placating manner. He took a breath, before he spoke. "I won't be dying anytime soon Aoko. I still have my dream on the line." He told her as he smiled fondly, not at her, but at remembering his dream, a dream that he will see to the end, and will never regret.

Aoko seemed to notice his demeanor and couldn't help but smile slightly herself, though her smile looked more like a half smirk than a smile at all. "Yeah, dreams are meant to be fulfilled after all." She said fondly, as if remembering her own dream.

They stayed like that for awhile, each remembering and planning out how they would fulfill their individual dreams. How they would see through it, and how they would cherish the moment they fulfilled it. It wasn't until they both had the same thought that they stopped thinking and turned to each other.

Shirou nodded grimly, whilst Aoko scowled.

Their dreams needed to be defended, the world was in danger, what's the use of dreaming if there was no future to begin with?

"You were saying about Lorelei?" Shirou began, and Aoko once more began pacing in front of the desk he was on.

"Right, Lorelei usually carries a whip…" As Aoko began once more on teaching Shirou everything she had seen and heard about the heir of the Barthomeloi bloodline, neither noticed the presence of another, at the very far corner of the hall, stare at them with calculating eyes.

Truth be told, he was only here for business. A Dead Apostle had wondered too far into the Einzbern territory, and had paid the price with his un-life.

Now normally, he would have just disposed of the body right then and there, but his wife had ordered him to return to the Clock Tower, stating that "It's about time you show your face in there."

Of course, he tried to dissuade her, telling her that he had many enemies in the Clock Tower, and that there was a very high chance that an enemy Master was chosen already and was residing in the Clock Tower itself.

But she would have none of it, she insisted that he bring the body of the Apostle to the Clock Tower to have his bounty claimed. Not just for the money, no, but also because they needed to know that the Magus Killer was still alive, and was doing his job.

He raised an eyebrow at that reasoning, not really sure as to why they needed to know that a very powerful man that was 'this' close to getting Designated needed to be shown that he was alive and well.

Her only response to him? "Just because!"

He had let out a small sigh of resignation, when his wife got like that, there was no stopping her. He had pondered on the reason she would so suddenly insist on getting him to the Clock Tower, but he had come up blank. There was absolutely no reason to.

They didn't need the money; they were being cared for by the Einzbern's after all, a very rich and very old family of Alchemists.

He most certainly did not need people knowing that he was still alive and well, not with all his enemies still looking for him. Looking for a way to actually kill him while being inconspicuous about their grudge for a 'lower man' as they put it. It didn't help that most of his enemies had direct relations to the Clock Tower and most of them stayed in it for their research.

Yes, clearly, there was no need for him to be here, aside of course, for the fact that his wife wanted him out of the castle.

He had arrived only a few hours ago, and when he entered the Clock Tower, he expected to be bombarded with looks of disdain or outright fear. But to his surprise, they did not seem to pay much mind to him, they were all busy talking with one another, muttering something about a 'duel with a Barthomeloi.'

He knew of the Barthomeloi of course, he had worked alongside many of them during his time as a Freelancer. They were prideful, they were powerful, they were well connected, and they were just like any other noble family in the Clock Tower.

Of course, he didn't mean all of them. He had had the pleasure of talking with the current Vice-director of the Clock Tower when he had single-handedly killed a Dead Apostle Ancestor candidate.

It was nothing really, the Vampire himself was arrogant, and he had paid the price for it with an origin bullet to the chest. He shook his head at the memory, the magical world's aversion with modern technology truly amazed him to no end. The Apostle had stated that he cannot die by a projectile because his magic would not allow it. But his Origin Bullet changed that fact.

Once the bullet landed on Apostle's chest, his magic tried to deny it, and the moment it did so, the Apostle lost all of his Magic Circuits by getting them spliced, and then immediately after, they were tied together, clogging them and preventing him from drawing anymore od from his body.

It was a simple task after that, all he had to do was just walk up to the writhing Apostle and just unload an entire case of 9mm handgun bullets into his head. The image that was left after that reminded him of his own father, his head caved in and liquefied due to his unloading of bullets into his brain.

He shook his head clear of those memories, no point bringing up the past now.

He thought back the when he talked to that old Barthomeloi, she was hospitable, almost like a grandmother welcoming their grandchild in for some tea. Of course, that did not fool him, he knew that she wanted something. But he couldn't discern what that something was.

They talked, talked about his latest Apostle kill, and how he would be a good asset to the Clock Tower. She had then offered him a permanent place in the Tower, he was surprised at the offer, but he refused. He did not work under people so they could use him; he worked for himself to save people. And nothing will ever change that.

He thought about how direct she had been, and needless to say, Kiritsugu had pegged her for someone that wouldn't go about accepting duels without a good reason. And dueling against the Vice-director really wasn't something someone sane would be doing anytime soon.

So he eliminated her as the possible one that would be dueling, and that left only one other person that he could think of that would actually want to duel. The Vice-director's granddaughter; the genius Lorelei.

He didn't know anything about her aside from the fact that she would be taking up the mantle of Vice-director in a few years time. Quite the feat actually, since she was still give or take 18 years old or younger. But to actually be allowed to show your face in public when you are part of the Barthomeloi family spoke volumes of the person's power.

Long story short, the Barthomeloi's despised imperfection as much as they despised Dead Apostles. And that was just sugar coating it.

From the previous teammates that he had had as part of the Barthomeloi family, whether they be in the minority of it, or part of the larger branch, they all had one thing they did that spoke volumes of how they grew up.

They were all incredibly sheltered and honed to perfection.

They were unbending, and they almost always fought with textbook precision, true, they were very powerful allies, but he couldn't count the number of times when something went awry with the plans that they had to improvise on the spot. Yet every last one of the Barthomeloi's actually pushed through with the original plan, either this because they thought it was perfect, or because of pig-headedness, he leaned more to the former.

He quietly grasped his hand as he felt the sigil burn up. Thankfully, they were covered by gloves, preventing anyone from actually recognizing them and pointing them out.

As he grasped the sigil, he couldn't help but look at the two teens talking amongst themselves in the empty classroom.

He hadn't meant to follow them, no, his eyes would have actually washed over them should the circumstances had been normal.

But they weren't, and a flash of crimson red from the boy's right hand as he had disposed of a bottle of wine in the thrash can in the hallway made him turn his head in slight bewilderment.

He had made a mental note to thank his wife, if she hadn't insisted that he take the Apostle to the Association, he would have probably never have found the last Master until after the Grail War started.

He quietly followed them, he watched them as they both turned a corner, he watched them as they stopped to sit on a bench, and he watched them as the boy raised both hands over his head to stretch. He saw the flash of crimson once again, and his previous thoughts were confirmed.

He had found the Wild Card Master.

Usually, when the Grail War starts, it chooses individuals that it thinks may be able to wield it for a wish. These individuals ranged from the noble, to those of the lower classes that wanted to make a name for themselves.

These Masters would take up the first six slots, but the last slot was always the surprising one. Because every time the seventh Master was chosen, it was always someone they would never expect.

And so here he was, sitting in the far end of an empty classroom, quietly observing these two teenagers, one was the Wild Card Master, while the other was someone that looked oddly familiar to him, yet he couldn't quite place it. Who was she? He was pretty sure he had seen her before, but her name escaped him.

He had listened into their conversation, and needless to say, this was a golden opportunity for him to find out the strengths and weaknesses of this Master. From the way their conversation was going, he had found who would be fighting Lorelei, and he couldn't help but return to his previous persona of indifference.

He quietly stood up as he heard where the duel would be taking place. Taking note that the teenaged girl said that the fight was in three hours, Kiritsugu quietly made his exit, both teenagers never knew he was there in the first place.

**XxX**

"Quite the crowd is it not?" Geneva Barthomeloi inclined her head to the side, her graying brown hair swaying as she did so; she then nodded to the man that had taken up the position next to her, her face holding a quite indifference to them.

"Yes. To be honest though, I did not expect such a turnout, word spreads fast do they not?" Geneva said as she turned back towards the fight, she quietly glanced over to her left, where the nervous and awkwardly standing Aoko was busy watching the fight in morbid fascination.

She had to stifle the smirk that was forming on her lips. It seems that her pseudo-granddaughter was scared for her little apprentice.

Kayneth nodded to her, his head inclining as a show of respect to the Vice-director. "Words carry weight, the lesser they weigh, the faster it travels. And I assure you, the words 'A Barthomeloi is going to duel' are light here." He said, not out of spite, but because it was the truth.

The old Barthomeloi narrowed her eyes slightly. "If I didn't know any better Kayneth, I would say that you are insulting me and my family." Geneva stated, and Kayneth merely let out a small chuckle. He waved his hands placating in front of him, before he spoke in an apologizing tone.

"I meant no harm Lady Geneva, but it is merely the truth. When one as perfect as the Barthomeloi family choose to show themselves in public via duel, then it is safe to say that the challenger will lose spectacularly." He defended himself, and Geneva merely shook her head.

"I suppose those words are true, whether I like it or not. And I suppose you're right, a Barthomeloi making her debut by dueling an unknown Magus from the East does sound like something no one would take seriously. Why, if I had to guess, all these watchers-" She gestured her hand over towards the crowd of people that had taken to seat themselves on the outer edges of the rather large classroom that was classroom cE, in all likeliness so they wouldn't disturb the fight that was happening in just a few more seconds. "Are actually waiting to see just how strong my Granddaughter is and just how badly the unknown Magus would be injured. Quite sadistic this next generation of Magi is." She said with underlying mirth, mirth that was shared by Kayneth.

"Yes, quite. But rest assured Lady Barthomeloi, I will try and squash their sadism. After all, I cannot rightly call myself a teacher if all my students grew up without a sense of others." He stated, and though he meant every word in it, there was just no way he could actually pull through with it.

Geneva stared at him, a small smile curving upwards as she did so. "I sincerely hope you do Kayneth. Lest we suffer under a dictator in the future." Geneva said as she turned back towards the two fighters.

Kayneth could only chuckle. Not because he found that situation funny, but because there was no way he would allow that to happen. Not if he had a say in it. He turned towards Aoko, and he couldn't but let out a small smile, this was good. He could gauge this Master's fighting prowess.

Not that he would be fighting him mind you, he had his Servant to do that kind of heavy lifting. But more knowledge couldn't hurt, no, it couldn't hurt at all.

And so, all three watched the upcoming fight, one was silent throughout the whole thing, the only thing racing across her mind was the worry she had for her student, who was for all intents and purposes, fighting against someone that was trained to be perfect.

The next one had a mask of indifference, but hidden under her old green eyes was curiosity as well as mirth at seeing the fight unfold. Clearly her expectations for the boy were not unfounded.

While the last one was casually observing, his own eyebrows rose as he saw the fight unfold, clearly this was not what he was expecting. From the way he projected those two swords, that pitch black and the gleaming white one, he would have said he was a crafter. But the way he carried himself, according to his recently summoned Servant, was that of a warrior that had just come home from a long winded battle. He was tense, and always on alert, as if someone would actually start killing him at anytime.

Truly, this Master by the name of Shirou was a mystery. A mystery that he would kill, but a mystery nonetheless.

**XxX**

He watched him as he fought; a visible frown marred his face.

The way he projected those two swords of his suggested that he was a crafter, an exceptionally good one at that, as he still had to see a speck of deformation on them as they remained in Gaia. They were amazing projections really; both of them held a quiet power to them, and neither were getting rejected by Gaia.

But that was all there was to him. True, his fighting prowess was amazing, but his technique was reckless and ensured he would get stabbed.

He almost cringed as he saw him drop his guard again, and for his opponent to take advantage of that fact.

But each time he dropped it and his opponent attacked the dropped guard, he seemed to be able to counter in time to save himself from brutal strikes courtesy of the Barthomeloi.

He was a fighter that he had no doubt, but he would not survive the war. No, his skills did not match a Servant's own. And there was no feasible way for him to survive the war with his skills alone.

He watched as he threw his black sword at the Barthomeloi, surprising him greatly as to why he would throw his weapon away just to surprise his opponent.

To his surprise and everyone around him, the sword seemed to make a u-turn, before it was deftly caught into the same hand that had thrown it in the first place.

That was… Strange.

Yes, there was just other way to describe what he had seen, it seemed like that sword acted like a boomerang of sorts, and it always returned to the owner when it would be thrown. Quite a strange weapon.

But as his thoughts drifted back to the battle, he saw the end of it. He saw the incoming wave of wind that the Barthomeloi had used via her sending her whip to the side. He saw the physical manifestation of the wind as it traveled towards the backside of the unsuspecting Master. How he had missed that, he didn't know.

He shook his head as he saw the wind collide with his back. This was over.

He turned around and began to walk away, whoever this new Master was. He wasn't someone to worry over. No, not until he summoned a Servant, and then he would be a threat. But right now, he was nothing more then a kid that had nothing to do with the Grail War.

He wasn't stupid enough to just dismiss him outright as a non-threat however. When the time came, he would research everything about him, but right now, he had larger enemies to research over.

One of them happened to be in the same room as him.

As he began walking out, he quietly eyes his other opponent, Kayneth El-Melloi Archibald. Who did not seem to notice him from the crowds of disappointed on lookers.

Giving Kayneth one last glance over, he began to walk away from the crowd, he walked past the bounded field that gave the classroom the outdoor look, and the world reverted back to its original state.

If Kiritsugu had stayed for just a minute longer, he would have reevaluated this Master's threat level.

But alas, he had already left the room, and he would be returning to Germany, to his wife and daughter, and to plan out the final stages of his plans for the Grail War.

**XxX**

She saw him mutter something under his breath as he fell, a last ditch spell maybe?

She would have shaken her head at his desperation, but the sound of metal clattering on the ground stopped her from doing so.

She looked up towards where she heard the sound of metal clattering noisily on the ground against each other, but the only thing she saw was her opponent. On the ground, face first and knock ou-

She saw him gasp in pain, before he steadily began to push on the ground to stand up, his entire body shaking as he did so.

She was surprised at the action, but that did not deter her from sending another wave of wind towards him with her whip.

She flung her whip towards the ground, and a wave appeared and approached her opponent's steadily rising form. She didn't let a smile appear on her face as she saw the wave of wind collide with him once more. There was no joy in defeating someone below you after all.

But to her surprise, when the wind hit the boy, the sound of metal being hit echoed around the battlefield. She watched in morbid fascination as the wave dissipated into nothingness as her opponent seemingly brushed off the attack without much thought.

Thinking that she hadn't used enough power, she threw her hand upwards and immediately downwards. Sending two waves of wind, this time sharper and stronger than the previous ones, towards her opponents rising form.

But again, the sound of metal getting hit echoed as the two waves of wind hit her opponent dead on, and her opponent didn't even seem fazed by them.

She grit her teeth in frustration, just what had he done to give himself such tenacity and unyieldingness.

She snapped out of her thoughts as she watched him raise an arm, his hand empty and his golden eyes piercing hers. She watched in fascination as he muttered something, and then she saw him project another weapon, this one unlike the previous ones. This was longer, sharper, dangerous…

And familiar.

She could the malice oozing off of it, the anger it held, and the monstrous animosity that it housed. And all of it was directed at her.

She froze as a wave of doom crashed into her, she couldn't move, she couldn't find it in herself to move away, because if she did, she would risk the ire of something bigger than her, bigger than anything she could have thought possible.

She eyed the blade, and realized why she couldn't move. The familiar plain blade that she always saw by her grandmother's side. The nameless blade that she always carried but never used.

How did he have it in his possessions? She saw the blade just before entering this room, the blade was right by her grandmother's side! This was preposterous!

"You're an amazing opponent Lorelei Barthomeloi," She heard her opponent say, and she couldn't help but eye him curiously, her body still frozen in place. "But right now, I can't lose. I need to see my dream fulfilled. And to do that, I need to defeat you."

She watched him as he took a familiar stance, a stance that had been drafted into her mind since she was a mere child. A stance that was guarded almost jealously to prevent others from working out the mistakes in it.

"Impossible…" She muttered as she readied herself into a defensive stance, the counter to the stance her opponent had taken to.

Shirou was standing, knees bent and body slightly lowered one hand on the swords hilt as he raised it to point at his opponent and the other hanging haphazardly on his left. His gaze was straight as he watched his opponent go into a defensive stance.

He let out a small smile and said, with clear confidence. "Pride has no meaning in battle. The only thing that matters is the winner, for they are the one that chooses who lives and who dies."

Shirou steadied himself, and then he launched himself forward, sword raised to strike his opponent, to defeat her.

He barely registered the buffeting winds that came his way from his opponent, he didn't flinch as he felt gale force winds try to blow him back, he didn't recoil when winds rivaling that of a typhoon hit him square on the chest. No, he would not budge, he would not shy away, because his body was made out of swords, swords that he had no pride in, swords that he had acquired by merely glancing at them. Swords that, for all they were, mere imitations that would never be seen by anyone save for himself.

He could hear his body now, the infinite number of swords under his skin screeched against each other, the unholy sound resounding across the entire room as they deflected the winds, as they reinforced his body, and as they pushed against each other.

He watched in fascination as he saw his opponent hopelessly jump back, hoping to gain some distance away from his approaching form.

It would do her no good.

He planted his feet firmly on the ground, his momentum started to shift forward and into his raised right arm and then onto his right hand before he firmly slashed it down, cutting the air with the unholy blade.

At first, there was nothing, only the sound of the sword cutting air resounded across the battlefield. But from the nothing came something, a razor sharp wind, and pitch black in color, streaked across the battlefield like a half-moon.

Its edges cut the air and the ground respectively, leaving behind it a trail of vapor and dirt that had been cut in two.

It traveled so fast that his opponent couldn't hope to dodge it, so she did the only thing she could do in that situation. She cast a spell.

Her words were quick, and a wall of wind suddenly erupted from the ground, but that would do no good.

The pitch black half-moon wind cut through the wind wall like butter, and it collided with his opponent.

He heard her scream as the wind cut her right arm clean off. Blood spurt from her now armless shoulder and she clutched it to prevent the loss of blood.

He would have winced; this was not what he wanted when he had done that technique. He thought that she would dodge, but she didn't, and now she paid the price for it.

He would have rushed forwards towards his opponent, hoping to save her from death as blood gushed out of her wound like a fountain.

He would have tried to save her, but he couldn't, for his vision was now swimming with blackness.

He felt his circuits power down, he felt his body grow lighter, he felt his swords recede back into his inner world, and then he felt the calmness of nothing.

Shirou Emiya had passed out from realizing his Reality Marble in his own body.

**XxX**

**First of all, did I characterize Kiritsugu right? I mean, to me, he doesn't seem like the type of person that would drop everything just so they could understand something new. To him, Shirou is just an unnamed Magus that can fight on par with a Barthomeloi fresh out of Barthomeloi training camp. To an experienced fighter and assassin like Kiritsugu, fighting against someone green only indicates that you too are green. He knows about the Barthomeloi, but he doesn't really see them as a threat, since they usually go by the book.**

**Second of all, about Lorelei's arm. Yeah. That happened, did you like it? Probably not. I saw her right arm, and then I had thought, 'maybe it's artificial?' And now we're here. Please don't kill me for doing that.**

**In regards to the chapter itself, I hope it's not too confusing, the format that is. I just felt that it flowed really well when I rearranged it like this.**

**Also, yeah. In regards to Kiritsugu's abruptness in this chapter. Well, I figured Iri to be an older Illya. You know, the completely random at times and wacky Illya? Anyway, I do have a valid reason for him being here and why Iri sent him here. But that will be explained later.**

**And for those that demand answers right now. I say to you, 'Deal with it.' This isn't a book people, you can't just turn the page and expect the next chapter to be there. This is a fanfic, it goes one chapter at a time.**

**Anyways, this has not been proofread, at all. So forgive the grammar, spelling, and other mistakes that you may find.**

**And yeah, Kayneth summoning Lancer was a goof up on my part. I forgot that Waver stole the catalyst two years before. I recalled it said four years before, but I guess I was wrong. Anyway, this just gives Lancer ample time to adjust to the world, but him being summoned early won't have much an impact. Because no one knows that he was summoned early, well, save for maybe Risei.**

**Anyway, that's all from me.**

**C.O.Y.L out, peace.**


	7. Perfection and Stagnation

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

**XxX**

Light invaded his eyes as he steadily opened them.

He flinched as he brought his hand up to shield them from the light, and as his vision steadily began clearing, he realized that he was no longer on the battlefield.

He groaned as he began to sit up, his body felt as heavy as lead, but nonetheless, he soldiered on and sat up, he turned his head side to side, taking in the room that he was in.

It was strangely white, as if it the walls were made of porcelain, there were no windows, and the only thing that seemed to be a different color was the wooden door, which was left ajar slightly, the blackness behind it suggested that either this room was bright, or the other room had no lights on.

He glanced down, and found a bed, a bed that he was lying in, its white covers and white blanket covering his legs, he shifted his hand to try and pull out the blanket, but he held back. If he was in a bed, a white bed in a white room, then most likely he was being treated.

As averse he was to the idea of seeing a doctor, he couldn't just stand without the doctors approval. He had a deep respect to them after all, and the time in the hospital after the fire really made him thank them, because most likely without them in the world, no one could be saved from death.

Well, not really, just most people that couldn't help themselves with their sickness and wounds.

But although he respected them, he had an adverse fear of them.

He never really needed to see a doctor before, not since the after the fire, but there was nothing wrong with respecting the people that saved lives, even if you did not want to see one for the rest of your life. So for now, he would wait until a doctor would enter his room.

He didn't wait long, the door suddenly opened, its hinges creaking slightly as they did so, and Shirou inclined his head towards it. Only for a pair of red eyes with glasses over them stare back at him, the owner of the eyes holding a certain mirth in them as she did so.

"Well now, you recover quickly don't you?" Touko said as she made her way over to the bed, carefully observing Shirou up and down. Shirou could only tilt his head to the side, unsure of how to respond to that.

"Uhh, yeah, I guess you could say that." He said as he tried to recall who this person was, something about her seemed familiar, but it es…

"Ah!" He exclaimed, gaining Touko's attention as she stopped studying him and gave him an inquisitive look. Shirou pointed a finger at her and said "You're Aoko's sister right?"

Touko could only close her eyes and shake her head, smiling as she did so. "I'm rather surprised you managed to put that together. I only told you that Aoko's sister was waiting for her." Touko said with a slightly mocking tone.

Shirou felt his face twitch. He knew he wasn't that smart, but for someone to actually point it out like that. I mean, he could put two and two together. He wasn't blind.

Shirou shook his head clear as he felt something start to remove his shirt. He darted his eyes to the right, surprised that Touko was removing his shirt without his consent. Squashing the urge to squeal and jump out of bed, he instead settled with flinching away, his eyes wide as he stared at Touko.

"What are you doing?!" He shouted, clearly un-amused at what she was doing. Touko only scowled as she approached him once more, narrowing her eyes as she did so.

"Don't move," Her words were ordered out. He stopped moving as Touko once more began to remove his shirt. "Don't be so squeamish. I've already seen everything you have under there, and I'm just checking if there really were no wounds left." Touko explained as Shirou felt her hands over his chest, her red eyes staring at him as she did so.

He could feel his cheeks redden, this was embarrassing, but the sooner this was over, the sooner he could leave. Truth be told, he was fresh as a daisy, but something about this woman, with her red eyes that were covered with glasses seemed to shout that she was dangerous. So much more so than Lorelei.

"The name's Touko by the way. Touko Aozaki." She had said as she took one final look at his body, before she nodded at him, signaling that he could place his shirt back on now.

"Shirou." Was his reply, before he started to fix the shirt that was taken off. He replaced his shirt on his body. Only to realize that this was not the shirt he had worn when he was knocked out. Come to think of it…

He raised his blankets, and he immediately felt blood rush towards his face. Touko couldn't help but laugh as he finally realized that someone had changed his clothes while he was knocked out, underwear and all.

**Fate: Zero/Night**

**XxX**

"I was surprised," Touko began once more, she was quietly sitting by Shirou's bed, a bed that for all that it was, was just as white as the room that surrounded them. Shirou regarded her with a raised eyebrow, and she let out a small smile. "When the fight was over, the first thing that the Doctors in the Clock Tower did was make sure Lorelei was alright. No one bothered to look you over, they all favored the Barthomeloi."

Her words rang in his head. Why would they need to see if Lorelei was alright? Hadn't he ju-

He suddenly remembered the last thing he had seen as he fell unconscious. He had de-armed Lorelei, and now he wasn't even sure if she was alive.

Seeing Shirou's eyes widen and his posture stiffen, Touko could only shake her head, amused at the prospect of someone actually caring more about their opponents then themselves.

"Don't worry," She began, prompting Shirou to turn his head so he could see her. "She's not dead. But that's about all I know about her. Reattaching an arm is simple with the right magic, but I doubt she would want to get it reattached at all." Touko stated as she leaned backwards on the chair she was sitting on, its backrest stretching slightly as it did so.

Shirou raised an eyebrow at that, how did a wooden chair stretch without breaking? He shook his head clear of that thought, again, it was inconsequential, he first needed to know why Lorelei wouldn't be reattaching that arm.

Sensing his confusion, Touko answered before he could speak, her eyes closed as she did so. "Lorelei is a proud woman, and her defeat probably meant something bigger to her than you would ever know. All Barthomeloi's strive for perfection, but when you misjudge something as a Barthomeloi, like I don't know," Touko stopped talking as she once more put her hand in her shirt pocket and pulled out a case of cigarettes. She promptly took one out and placed it into her mouth, and replaced the case of cigarettes in her hand with a lighter. She ignited the lighter and pushed the cigarette in her mouth on the open flame and took a whiff. "Misjudging that you cannot fight a demonic wind with regular wind, and then promptly having your arm cut off because of you judgment. You tend to take it seriously. Lorelei will most likely have her arm stay cut-off until she is sure that she can defeat you."

Those words set alarm bells ringing in Shirou's head, and Touko seemed to smirk as she took another whiff of her cigarette, as if she understood what Shirou was thinking right then and there.

"Congratulations kid, you've now made yourself a rival of the future Vice-director of the Clock Tower." She said with a rather amused tone, something that was lost to Shirou completely.

Before Shirou could respond however, the door once more opened, this time, via kick from a scowling Aoko Aozaki. It was clear to Shirou even before she entered the room; she did not like being here with her sister. Her not so subtle glaring at the puppet woman that was sitting by his bed really reinforced the idea that Aoko did not like Touko.

Aoko glared at Touko for only a few seconds, before she proceeded to walk past her sitting form and over towards Shirou, it was clear that Aoko was going to tolerate (Read: Ignore) Touko for the rest of her stay in the room.

"You okay?" Aoko's voice was filled with slight apprehension and worry, Shirou couldn't help but smile. They had only known each other for a few days, and she was acting like she really cared for him. Granted, he technically did spend five months with Aoko, but those five months were just him being taught English by Aoko. They didn't interact beyond that at all.

Shirou nodded his head at her. "Yeah, I'm fine. I heal fast, so don't worry about me." He reassured her, and judging from the look that she was giving him, it was clear that she was still rather cautious.

Before Aoko could press on however, Touko once more spoke up. "I thought I had said he wouldn't be receiving visitors." She had said, her tone icy. Aoko either did not hear it, or chose to ignore it.

It was obviously the latter.

"You did a good job out there Shirou," Aoko praised, Touko didn't seem to miffed that she was ignored, but her red eyes were glaring at Aoko, who did not seem to mind at all. "Those projections you made, I've seen you use them before, on instinct mostly. Tell me, what are those?" She asked him, clearly she was referring to Kanshou and Bakuya, and he couldn't help but smile as he held out his hand to try and Trace Kanshou.

"Trace on." He muttered as Kanshou materialized into his outstretched right hand. It was a curved blade that was pitch black, the only thing that contrasted its black blade was the yin-yang symbol etched onto its side. He gave the blade to Aoko, who was taking in the blade with wide eyes, drinking in its beautiful sight.

He couldn't blame him; it was really an amazing blade. Made by a Chinese blacksmith by order of an emperor that wanted an amazing blade. He had tried to do so, but found that he had lacked inspiration. So his wife, his beloved wife that saw his frustrations, threw herself in the fire, hoping to ignite his passion once more. It had worked, and from her ashes came both Kanshou and Bakuya. But the blacksmith, after he had forged the blades, couldn't help but cry in agony, he soon followed her into the fire, with the blades still in them. The blades were later found when imperial guards stormed the smithy, and they were given to the emperor.

"That's Kanshou. It's one of my most prized possessions." His voice contained unhidden mirth. That had been a lie. He had no pride for this blade, or for its counterpart. They were merely tools he used to fulfill his dream.

"It's an amazing blade." Aoko said as she carefully inspected the blade, taking in its form in all its glory. She was strangely attracted to it, and she had no idea why.

"Yes, it is an amazing blade," This time, it was Touko who spoke, her red eyes staring right at Shirou, and not the blade. Clearly, she was just humoring her. "But what's more amazing is your Aria for projection."

Damn, she was a sharp one wasn't she?

Shirou smiled sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his head. Touko was still staring at him, and she clearly wanted to know about his aria. "I don't traditionally project these swords." He relented when he found that any excuse he would throw would just be met with a sharp glare.

Aoko seemed to glare at him, as if telling him that telling her sister about his Tracing would be a very bad thing, but nonetheless, he had already spoken about it and by the looks of Touko's face, she was clearly waiting for more. He would indulge her, but only to some extent.

"I don't just Project my swords, I Trace them," He told her, and before she could ask what Tracing was, Shirou was already speaking, his voice sounding rather sheepish. "It basically means that I Trace its origins, from when it was made, the materials it was made from, and the previous users it had." He explained, and Touko adopted a thoughtful look.

"So you basically combined Projection with Structural Grasping?" She offered, and Shirou nodded his head.

"Something like that, but I don't just Grasp the way its made." He said, and Touko nodded her head in understanding.

"You basically take it a step further. You don't just Grasp its structure, the way its shaped, the way its bent. You Trace it all the way back to when it was made, all the nicks and all the dings it had will be known to you. That also includes all the people that held that particular blade," Touko stopped and took another whiff of her cigarette, before she promptly took it out of her mouth and shook the excess ash on an ashtray by her side. Where she got the ashtray, he would probably never know. She hadn't come in there with it, and there was no place to hide it in the room, because there was only a bed and a door. "And that also explains ho-"

"How you had managed to perfectly copy a Barthomeloi sword stance to the letter." An old voice sounded from the doorway, and from the doorway, it produced the standing form of Geneva Barthomeloi, her dull green eyes piercing Shirou's golden ones.

Shirou stiffened as he saw her stare at him, and he couldn't help but flinch away, unable to look at her directly. What he had done during that fight, had most likely insulted her, in more ways than one.

"Vice-Director." Touko began as she put out the cigarette and banished the ashtray from whence it came. She stood and turned to look at the old Bathomeloi, her red eyes narrowed slightly as if she was expecting an attack. "It's not everyday I see you in my room. To what do I owe the pleasure?" Touko's tone was cold, but nonetheless, it held some respect in them for the old woman in front of her.

Geneva did not deign a response, and instead, moved past her, and over towards the bed Shirou was sitting in. Aoko had stood up as well, showing some respect to her just as much as Touko did. And as the Barthomeloi passed by Aoko, she quietly grabbed Kanshou in her hand and away from Aoko's, she examined the Traced blade as she carefully turned it, her eyes darting up and down its blackened blade.

"Quite a strange way of Projection, but I cannot argue with results. Though this Noble Phantasm seems degraded, it is still a well made one. One that simple Projection cannot hope to copy." Her voice was cold, but it held some degree of respect in them. Whether this was at him for his Tracing ability, or for the Noble Phantasm, he could not say.

He couldn't help but think about her examination however, she had said it was degraded, and it really was. Yet, when he had seen Archer Trace them, they weren't in the least bit degraded. True, both he and Archer Traced the same swords, but almost always Archer's Tracing ability was better than his. That did not mean Archer's Tracing was flawless however, he just did a better job than him when it came to that regards.

"When I had offered you my sword, tell me, did you reject it because you had already Traced it, or because you did not want it?" Shirou snapped out of his thoughts as the old Barthomeloi's question pierced him. He thought back to the time she had offered that bland unholy blade, which happened to just be this morning, and he couldn't help but shake his head.

"I did not want that blade. It holds a certain ungodliness in them that made me just not want to use them. I apologize if I had insulted you." He bowed his head slightly, if anything, this gesture would at least save him from some of her wrath.

Instead of berating him however, the old Barthomeloi just chuckled, her old voice resounding around the white room. "Do not worry yourself over it boy. That blade in itself was made with the bones of an Apostle Ancestor. I've used it enough in my lifetime, and I had thought that you would be a good person to pass it down to." She explained.

So that was why Shirou had a strange feeling about the blade. It was made using the bo-

He blanched as he was assaulted with memories pertaining to said blade. He watched as the bone that was used was extracted from the still writing body of the vampire, he watched as the bone was thrown into a fire, white hot and searing, he watched as the bone melted, before it was taken out and it was incased in metal.

This continued on and on until the blade itself was formed. His memories continued on even after that, he had watched as the blade had struck down bone that it had been made from, he watched as it had severed heads, a fountain of gore exploded from the neck that had been severed.

These memories were brutal, and he realized it had been a good thing he had been pre-occupied with the thoughts of the battle with Lorelei before. These memories were gruesome and unpleasant.

The three women in the room seemed to notice his pale complexion, and Aoko was by his side in an instant, shaking his shoulders to snap him out of his thoughts. "Hey Shirou," Her voice was tentative, almost nervous as she shook him. Shirou seemed to be out of it, as he did not react, so she tried harder, shaking him even more so. "Shirou." Her voice was firm this time, and it seemed to do the trick, as Shirou looked over towards her, his golden eyes slightly blank.

"You okay?" She asked, and Shirou could only nod, his eyes returning to normal, Aoko let go his shoulder rather tentatively, still unsure if he was really alright. "If you say so…" Her voice trailed, and it held a certain uncertainty in them as she did so.

Shirou turned his gaze over towards the old Barthomeloi, thinking about what he was going to say, he swallowed hard as he opened his mouth, his dry lips and partly dry mouth taking a deep breath. "I saw…" His voice trailed as he licked his lips, adding some moisture to them. "I saw how you had made that sword." His voice was low, and he couldn't meet her eyes.

This act seemed to amuse the old Barthomeloi. "You're quite innocent aren't you?" She asked him rhetorically, her voice holding a certain mirth in them as she had done so.

Shirou didn't know how to react to that, so he only nodded his head. Hey, he really wasn't, but if someone as old as this woman pointed it out, then in comparison, you really are innocent.

"But that leads to another question all together," All semblance of amusement seemed to dissipate, and it was replaced by seriousness. Shirou turned to the old Barthomeloi once more. "Your Tracing, it is imperfect. Is it not?"

The question itself seemed almost rhetorical, she knew that it wasn't perfect, at least, his version of Tracing wasn't. He knew he had at least made a simple mistake when he had slashed down that Traced sword to send that unholy wind towards Lorelei. He had mistaken the foot that had been needed to move forward. Had he not mistaken his left foot with his right, he would have cleaved Lorelei in two. That was the cold and simple truth.

He nodded at the old woman, whose gaze remained stoic as she watched him. "Then I should thank either your luck, or Lorelei's luck. If you hadn't made that mistake, I would have been down one grandchild."

The way she had said that so casually almost made Shirou grit his teeth. To speak so casually about losing a family member, it was maddening to think about.

The old Barthomeloi seemed to sense his anger, and she couldn't help but gaze at him, her eyes steeled and her back straightened. The look she was giving very much resembled a grandparent scolding a child. "The Barthomeloi despise imperfection as much as they despise Dead Apostles. To see our family sword technique used sp imperfect;y, at our own heir nonetheless, only makes my blood boil." Her gaze was sharp, and it pierced Shirou like a knife. "And now I find that the one that had so bastardized our perfect technique mad at us for not wanting imperfection, that is a very grave insult." A sudden pressure erupted from the room, and Shirou couldn't help but gasp in surprise, clutching his chest as he looked up into the cold fury that was Geneva Barthomeloi.

"Know this apprentice Magus Shirou. Should you ever deign yourself worthy of using one of our techniques, you should do so with perfection. For I will not be so lenient in seeing it performed imperfectly." She warned, and the pressure in the room increased. Shirou could barely breath now, and from the sounds behind him, he could guess that Aoko and Touko were faring no better.

Soon, the pressure lifted, and Shirou managed to straighten his back, his gaze lingered on the bed, on the white sheets that seemed so clean. Before he brought his eyes up once more, only to see the cold rage gone, and replaced with slight bemusement.

"But I also would like to thank you," Her voice was now soft, almost grandmotherly. "My granddaughter Lorelei. She grew up not only despising imperfection, but abhorring it to the extremes. She aimed too much for perfection, and in her goals, she stagnated when she reached them all. She never grew, and she never deigned to learn anything more. She thought that she had perfected everything that would be needed. And it was for that reason, that I had delayed her debut for so long." The old Barthomeloi stated, and she turned towards Aoko. "No doubt that you had heard a great deal of things about Lorelei from Aoko. And let me tell you that almost all of them are true. She is an extreme perfectionist, she abhors imperfection as much as she abhors Dead Apostles. She is the prime Barthomeloi." Geneva stated. And Shirou listened well.

"But though she is the prime Barthomeloi, she also represents the most extreme of what our family is known for. She had trained herself ragged, to achieve perfection, and when she had done that, she would no longer learn more. Thinking that she was already perfect. I had tried to disabuse her of that notion, even going as far as beating her half to death in a spar." That confession made the old Barthomeloi close her eyes, almost as if she did not remembering that memory. "But nothing I had done got through to her. She would not learn, because she knew everything perfectly. After that spar, she did train, train to counter me. But she had already perfected that as well, she knew the ins and outs of my techniques, how to avoid all my attacks-"

"Wait a minute." It was not Shirou that stopped her from talking, it was Aoko, her eyes clearly confused. "If she knew how to counter everything about you, then how did Shirou land a hit on her?" The old Barthomeloi regarded Aoko with a praising look.

"And that is the question is it not?" Was her reply, and this seemed to confuse Aoko even more. "She knew what was coming after that, yet, all her training did not prepare for something so unprecedented, so radical. Her perfect view of herself was shattered when she witnessed a technique that was meant to be perfect, that was meant to be used by her family alone, used so imperfectly and so bastardized that she did not know how to react." The old Barthomeloi explained. Shirou winced at her subtle jab at his Tracing skills. Hey, it wasn't his fault he hadn't perfected it as of yet, he didn't exactly have the time to learn everything, that would have taken her years!

"So Lady Barthomeloi, what you're saying is," This time, it was Touko who was talking. Her voice cold as well as holding a slight curiosity in them. "She lacked battle experience."

The old Barthomeloi smiled and nodded. "That is precisely why she lost. Against someone like this young man here, all her practice, all her perfection would have been for naught." She stated, her eyes shining with barely hidden mirth in them.

"But if that's the case," This time, Touko's voice was lower, and Shirou couldn't help but glance over towards her, and he could see she was in the process of taking out another cigarette. He returned his gaze back to the old Barthomeloi, ignoring the sound of the lighter clicking and the smell of nicotine in the air. The old Barthomeloi however, wasn't so lenient. She narrowed her eyes towards Touko, who did not seem affected by it at all. "Then that would mean that you had prior knowledge to him, to Shirou." Touko stated, and waved her hand towards Shirou, as if gesturing him as an item. The old Barthomeloi could only smile.

"I admit I had a certain suspicion. But that is not the case. When he had 'Traced'," The old Barthomeloi stated, her voice emphasizing the word Trace. "Those two swords when I first met him, I immediately knew they were Noble Phantasms, and that he had fought through dirt and fire to get where he was that day. Even if his skills lacked pride, he still was a warrior, a warrior that was good at combat." The old Barthomeloi stopped talking, her eyes closed as if deep in thought. When she reopened them, they had a certainty in them that made Shirou subconsciously nod his head, and the old Barthomeloi nodded back, a small smile on her face.

"I'm glad you understand young man," The old woman seemed to straighten herself, before she locked eyes with Shirou once more. "Let me formally introduce myself. My name is Geneva Barthomeloi, it is a pleasure to meet such a decorated warrior." She stated as she stood up and inclined her head slightly at him, a slight nod of respect.

Shirou couldn't help but return the nod with his own subdued vigor. "And I'm Shirou. I've…" He trailed, he really wanted to say he was an Emiya, but again, Aoko had warned him from doing that. If nothing else, he had to trust her judgment. "I'm honored you would introduce yourself so formally." Was what he settled for, he slightly bowed his head at Geneva.

The old Barthomeloi could only smile at his formality. "Think nothing of it young man. But I do hope that you think any lesser of me." At her words, Shirou could only raise an eyebrow at her, prompting her to chuckle. "I've hidden my plans from you, plans that involved you and my granddaughter. I've insulted you more times now than I could care to count, and I've seemed to cause your ire because I've prodded at your teacher."

Her words made him only shake his head. "No, I don't think any less of you. You sound more like a concerned grandma than anything else actually." He heard Aoko snort right behind him, probably from trying to stifle laughter.

Thankfully, the old Barthomeloi shared some sense of amusement with Aoko. "Yes, I do believe I give off that aura." The old woman smiled at him, her dull green eyes held a certain mirth in them.

"I really don't mean to interrupt," Touko's voice cut through the companionable air, and they all turned towards her. She did not seem fazed in the slightest from all the stares. "But I find it highly unlikely that you're here just to talk about this. You must have another reason to come and visit him here if all places." Her words seemed to say that this place wasn't a place where you would find the old Barthomeloi, though Shirou did not have the faintest idea as to why that would be the case.

He turned back towards the old Barthomeloi, and found that all semblances of amusement and mirth in her eyes left her, replaced with seriousness. "Yes, right. I have another matter to discuss entirely. Though it still is related to the subject beforehand."

She stared straight into Shirou's golden brown eyes, and Shirou found that he could not look away, as the old Barthomeloi's eyes demanded that he return the gesture. When she spoke next, he was slightly perturbed to detect a hint of pleading in them. "Can you talk to my granddaughter?"

Needless to say, his previous observation of her as a concerned grandmother couldn't have been more right even if it tried.

**XxX**

"Please Lady Lorelei!" The doctor had tired for the umpteenth time now, but once again, the stubborn Barthomeloi with the name Lorelei only dismissed him. Sneering at him whilst vehemently shaking her head.

"I said no. Now stop asking the same question." Her voice seemed strained now, as if she had repeated those words over and over again. But at the same time, those words seemed to hurt her as well, though she managed to reign in her emotions from sounding in her voice.

The doctor couldn't help but sigh before he shook his head and walked out of the room. He had tried for a while now, ever since her arm was cut off, she had denied all efforts to have it reattached. It was mind-boggling for the doctors in the Clock Tower, a Barthomeloi was actually denying to become perfect? If Lorelei wasn't in the other room without an arm, he would have shook his head and said that was preposterous. But the facts were right in front of him, and he couldn't help the Barthomeloi unless she wanted help. Granted he could knock her out with a sleeping spell and operate while she asleep, but he did not want to risk the ire of the future Vice-director of the Clock Tower. Grudges always ran deep, and no matter how long it was pushed aside, grudges will always find a way to get paid.

"Excuse me?" The doctor was so preoccupied in his thoughts that he hadn't noticed someone walk through the door, heck; he hadn't even heard the door opening for that matter. He inclined his head, and his gaze narrowed, now why would he be here?

"Is uh," The red headed boy began, a lump formed in his throat as he took in the doctor's narrowed eyes. Thankfully, they were alone in the room, the nurses had been sent off, because the Lorelei had threatened them with her magic should she be continually bothered.

He was a special circumstance however, but that would come for another time.

"Can I help you?" His voice came out more gruffer than usual, and once more, he could feel his hair shift slightly, swaying from one side of his head towards the other. Its color most probably a light brown right now.

The red haired boy seemed to notice his hair, but decided against asking about it, and instead continued his previous question. "Is Lorelei here?" His voice was tentative, and he couldn't have looked more nervous even if he had tried.

Once more the doctor felt his hair shift, this time from right to the left, now it would probably be colored a darker shade of green, like grass maybe. "Yes she is, but I'm afraid she isn't accepting visitors right now." The doctor stated firmly, and he couldn't help but smirk as the boy's body stiffen slightly. Clearly he wouldn't be leaving without seeing her. He wondered if the boy would be as pig-headed as he was. Only one way to find out.

"I have to see her." The boy stated, his voice firm, the doctor could shook his head, his hair shifting for the third time to a light blue color.

"And I said that she cannot see anyone right now." His voice was just as firm as the boy's, and once more, he smirked as he did not see him falter in the slightest.

"Let me rephrase that," The boy began, this time walking up to him, and staring deep into his own eyes. The boy's golden eyes seemed to glow with a hidden confidence in them, and he couldn't help but swallow nervously. Okay, maybe he was pushing it, this boy had been the one to send Lorelei in here in the first place. "I don't _have_ to see her. But I do _need_ to see her."

He raised an eyebrow at those words, just how were they different? Whatever, he would push him some more.

"And again, you can-"

"Than can I see her?" This time, it wasn't the boy who spoke, but an old voice behind him, he turned his head, and finally noticed the current Vice-director of the tower eyeing him with narrowed eyes.

Okay, the boy's eyes were one thing, but this was just ridiculous.

He stepped aside, he respected authority, and this was an authority he could not go against. Though he still kept one eye on the red haired boy.

"Thank you Jason." The vice-directors old voice sounded as she walked past him and past the red haired boy. The boy gave him one more glance, before he shrugged and followed the old Barthomeloi towards the open door that lead to Lorelei's room.

Jason couldn't help but sigh. Being a doctor for the Clock Tower was tiring sometimes. But he at least felt some sense of being needed by the people injured. And that was all he could ever ask for.

**XxX**

"Lorelei." Lorelei's body stiffened as she looked over towards the door, and she her eyes widened for a split-second before she looked away, the feeling of shame would not quell itself as she couldn't look at her own grandmother.

"Do not look away child," Even though the tone was soft, there was a certain ring of authority in them, and once more, Lorelei found herself staring at her grandmother. Her eyes filled with shame and regret.

"Grandmother…" She hated that she sounded so pathetic right now, she couldn't help but shift herself slightly, trying to hide the imperfection that marred her body.

"Do not flinch away either." She straightened her body now; she couldn't go against her grandmother, not now, not when she brought shame to her.

For a few seconds, no one said anything; they both only looked at each other, regret and shame in Lorelei's eyes, and disappointment in her own grandmothers.

"You disappoint me Lorelei." Lorelei was expecting those words, and she did not flinch, she could feel tears welling in her eyes, but she quashed them before they could fall. She would not cry, no, she would not show even more shame, even more imperfection to her grandmother.

"For generations, the Barthomeloi had been the epitome of perfection. We despised imperfection as much as we despised the imperfect beings known as Dead Apostles." Her grandmother began, and she dared not look away, even after she had heard this speech since she was a mere toddler. The comfort of flinching was lost to her now.

"I had thought I couldn't grow more disappointed in anyone after your father." She resisted the heavy urge to flinch, she did not like talking about him, but now she was no different than him.

"But today, I was proven wrong. You've disappointed me gravely Lorelei, and for that, I cannot help but think twice about you as my heir." She was shaking now, she had been strong, she had been perfect, yet, in one single night, all her strength, all her perfect stances, techniques, knowledge had been brushed aside.

She should have expected him to make a mistake, she should have anticipated it. Yet, in all her perfection, she did not think twice when she had seen him lower himself into a Barthomeloi battle stance, and when he had done so, she had thought she was fighting a Barthomeloi, a perfect warrior, a perfect duelist. She had been wrong, so gravely wrong.

"But at the same time, I cannot help but be happy." Her words stung, and she found herself involuntarily glaring at her own grandmother. Why?! Why would she be happy?! Had she really been so imperfect?! Had she really been so naïve in her thinking?!

Her grandmother seemed to sense her rage, and she could only stare at her fondly, all semblance of disappointment in them now lost. "I am happy because you've realized that nothing in this world is perfect." Her grandmother's words made her freeze. What?

"You've come to expect that this world will be perfect when you had been deigned ready to see it. I had objected the idea; I had told them that you were still so naïve, but the council had already given you their approval. And it had been up to me to find a worthy stage to make your debut." At those words, her grandmother gave her a graceful smile.

"You could just imagine how lost I was. How utterly panicked I was when I learned that it was up to me, your own grandmother, to find you a suitable place for your debut. I did not want to hurt you, and I did not want to embarrass you. But in the end, I chose the lesser of two evils, and I had you fight the boy tonight."

At the reminder of her opponent, Lorelei couldn't help but sneer slightly, just the thought of the boy made her want to rip him apart.

"The world isn't as perfect as you see it Lorelei. It is a vile and ugly place where worms and maggots crawl to get to the top. Where Dead Apostles roam the streets, where people wage war over petty money." Her grandmother's words echoed in her mind.

"Your father had forgotten about that fact, and he had gone off into the imperfect world, thinking that his perfect visage and perfect knowledge could get him through. I was not disappointed in him because he had thought the world was a perfect place for people like him. I was disappointed because he had thought that perfection would follow him until he died. That was why he had died when you were a mere toddler Lorelei, because he had thought that his perfection was perfect, that he could not grow anymore. And I risked seeing you go down that path as well, I risked seeing you stagnate." Her grandmother's words pierced her, and this time, the tears flowed freely down her cheeks.

Her grandmother moved carefully towards her, one hand tentatively reached out to wipe away the tears falling down her face. "You can never be perfect Lorelei. No one can. Our method of teaching was perfect, but to reach perfection, means we have to keep moving. We should never allow the notion that we are perfect because of our past, we will stagnate if that happened. Our future is where perfection lies, and it was for that reason that I had you fight Shirou."

Lorelei did not stop herself as she leaned into her grandmother's hand, taking in the warmth in them. Had she really been so naïve? Had she really thought herself a perfect being, that she would allow herself to stagnate because of it?

They stayed like that, both grandmother and granddaughter basked in the presence of one another, true, they weren't perfect yet, but their bond, it was perfect enough.

**XxX**

Shirou felt completely out of place, he had just bore witness to a touching moment between grandparent and grandchild, and he couldn't help but feel he had intruded upon a special moment between them. Still, he stayed by the door, like the old Barthomeloi Geneva had told him to, she had wanted him to talk to her granddaughter, and he would do so, but now he was waiting for a sign from the old Barthomeloi, anything to tell him it was okay to make his presence known.

Finally, after a few more tender seconds of basking in each others presence, Lorelei and Geneva separated. Geneva than turned to him and nodded, well, that was his cue.

…

…

…

Wait, how was he supposed to do this again?

He cursed himself as he felt like he had mucked up, he should have thought of something to say before they had entered.

Well, he already had one, but the moment he had entered, all those thoughts flew out the window. Now, he couldn't help but stand by the door, looking at the old Barthomeloi, unsure of how to proceed.

Seeing his plight, the old Barthomeloi couldn't help but roll her eyes.

"I've brought a guest with me." Geneva stated as she gestured for Shirou to come closer. He did so, his footsteps light as he swallowed nervously.

His eyes darted towards Lorelei, and then over to her right side. He flinched as he saw just how much damage he had done, it was clear just how much damage he had done, he had severed her entire right arm from her body, leaving only a stump covered in bandages, he winced as he met her gaze and she covered her stump with her left arm.

"You." Was all Lorelei had said, her voice cold and calculating. Shirou couldn't help but swallow nervously. Why did he have to talk to her again?

One glance at the older Barthomeloi, and he could see that she was smiling, a smile that he had seen before, a smile that Rin made whenever she had thought up something she thought would be brilliant, and that would cause him exasperation.

He couldn't help but sigh. Yeah, he had only been in the Clock Tower for one day and he was already regretting going with Aoko.

**XxX**

"Why'd you help him?" Aoko's voice strained as she glared at her sister's puppet. Said puppet couldn't help but chuckle slightly.

"Other than the fact that my sister asked?" Touko's voice was rather condescending, but she did not glance upwards towards the fuming Aoko.

Before Aoko could rebuke her however, Touko had raised a hand to stop her from talking. "Because now you owe me." Was all she said before she pointed towards the door, signaling for Aoko to get out of the room and leave her.

Aoko did so, but not without giving her sister one last glare. Touko did not seem affected as she only laughed, her voice echoing around the room as Aoko shut the door behind him.

Needless to say, after that one day in the Clock Tower, Shirou Emiya's life began to change, but then again, maybe it had already begun to when he had been sucked into that black hole with the King of Heroes.

**XxX**

**Yup. That's it for this chapter. Notice how Lorelei took up a large amount of space? Well, that's because she's part of this story. She plays as big a role as Aoko's actually.**

**Anyway, a lot of you guys asked. "Why no sword spam against Lorelei?" Well, the answer is frightfully simple. She uses wind magic. And Sword spamming means Shirou has to project, and then 'throw' his swords at Lorelei. Throwing something against gale force winds usually resorts to the thrown object getting sent back. And before you ask, yes, Shirou knew Lorelei uses wind magic. I believe I wrote a part of the last chapter stating that Aoko thought him a bit about Lorelei. Learn to read between the lines people. Please, if not for my sanity, than for your amusement.**

**And again people. This is UBW Shirou. Please, no more questions about that. I stated it clearly, and the prologue obviously points to that end.**

**Yeah, nothing more to add. Except maybe I have not proofread this. I just hope I managed to characterize both Lorelei and Geneva realistically. I mean, the Barthomeloi want perfection. But to achieve that, they need to move forward. To be already perfect means they stagnate.**

**Anyway, hope no one was disappointed with this. I enjoyed writing it. Because it characterizes my OC, and introduces another one. And before you go gallivanting saying that there are too many OCs. I'll just say that my OCs won't really be all that powerful. And it's hard to write about the Clock Tower, since most of the people in it are most likely still separated from it.**

**Anyway, the Fate/Zero storyline won't be starting anytime soon. So if you expect it to happen in five to six chapter, well, you MIGHT be right. But I still have to 'fix' Shirou. Don't get me wrong. Shirou Emiya is a horribly broken person, but his brokenness might just be the end of him in the Fourth Grail War. He would get along **_**badly**_** with Kiritsugu. And getting along badly with another man just as broken as you would make sure that you two fight it to the death. And Shirou would not be able to do that.**

**And also, in regards to the Magus Killer. While I agree that he is a machine, that does not mean he would be willing to stay out in the open while he watches. Remember, the fight occurred in an open courtyard with people just standing a ways away, and Kiritsugu was part of a crowd. He does not like being out in the open like that, much less when one of his enemies is right next to him. So he only took what he needed to see and left. I believe that is what Kiritsugu **_**would**_** do in that situation.**

**Anyway. I've gone off long enough. I'll just say again, I've not proofread this. So forgive my grammar and spelling mistakes. But don't point them out please. I can find them well enough. If you want to review, just review the story. That would help. Immensely.**

**C.O.Y.L out, peace!**


	8. Incoming Perils

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

**XxX**

It had been a day after the duel, a day after Shirou's life took a turn towards the crazy, and it was only a day until he had heard Aoko shout at him.

Well, she's not shouting now, but she may as well with her calculating gaze that almost made him flinch away from her.

"Can you just run that by me again? I promise, this will be the last time." Aoko's voice was calm, more so than her face, but Shirou knew that face. He had seen that face a lot of times when he was with Rin. A face that promised pain and embarrassment, preferably both.

He shook his head once again, clearing his head of an image of Rin having jabbed her finger at his chest while she puffed her cheeks had invaded his mind. The situation now and then was undoubtedly similar, but again, his world, the future that he knew probably didn't exist anymore.

No, it really didn't anymore. Not after what he was going to do, he already knew the Grail had been corrupted. But he didn't know when it had gotten corrupted, so now he was playing the waiting game with it. He was chosen by it, chosen again to fight in a war, the Fourth one when he had already fought in the Fifth one ten years later.

Needless to say, he would handle the Grail later. For now, the world needed saving. And that would be his first priority. Not a more than likely Corrupted Grail that had chosen him for the second time.

A sharp pain on the back of his head, and he lurched forwards, clutching his head as it seared with sharp pain. "Yow! What was that for?!" He shouted as he glared at Aoko and the hand she had used to slap his head with.

Aoko only gave him a pointed look, clearly un-amused at his words. "I asked you to say it again, and you blank out. You've been doing that a lot lately." Though her first sentence was mixed with irritation, her second sentence held a slight worried tone. He would have chuckled. She really was like Rin. So bipolar when it came to her feelings. Really, was it so hard to say that you were worried?

He straightened himself as he rubbed the back of his head, his unruly red hair brushing under his right hand. "Yeah well, I've got a lot of things to think about," He answered her second question first. It wasn't really a question, but he had had enough experience to read between the lines. After all, Rin had been like that, and he had turned out fine.

Well, maybe he could have been better?

He shook his head again, images of Rin kept flashing into his mind. The girl that he had admired during his time in high school, the girl that was possibly the closest to him because they had fought with each other through life and death scenarios, the girl that had first pointed out how distorted he was, and the girl that he had smiled at when he had said that he knew and he didn't care. Her dark brown hair that was always tied to two pigtails on the side of her head, her red long sleeved sweater, her hopelessly short miniskirt that bordered on indecent. Her image kept flashing into his mind, and for the life of him, he could not figure out why.

Another sharp flash of pain, he was keeling over once more.

"Damn it, stop blanking out!" Aoko's irritated voice resounded as his vision swam for a split second, her voice ringing painfully in his ears as they did so.

He had to stifle a sigh, he really should learn from his past, but he can't help it, Aoko's tone, her movements, and her demeanor reminded him so much of Rin.

"Okay, okay. I'll stop," His voice was pleading now, he did not want to get hit over his head for spacing out thinking about Rin. He straightened himself once more, before he turned to Aoko, and his firm gaze wilted at looking at her. His mind suddenly remembering why she was so testy. He reached for the back of his head once more, scratching it nervously. He's been doing this a lot recently, scratching the back of his head, nervously glancing at the person he was talking to. "Yeah, you know…" His voice trailed, smiling sheepishly as he did so.

Aoko's hand raising made him raise his own hands in front of his body in panic.

"Waitwaitwait!" He pleaded, he coughed as Aoko start to put her dangerous hand away. "Yeah. You got your workshop!" He said with a grin.

Which immediately turned into a frown of pain as he was smacked once more on his head.

"Gah!" He cried in protest at having even more brain cells die. Okay, he was asking for that. But did she really need to hit him so hard? I mean damn, even Rin did not smack him that hard when he did something bad.

"I know, you told me," Aoko's voice trailed dangerously, her tone restrained as if she was contemplating if she wanted to scream at him, or hit him upside on the head again. "But what I don't get, are the circumstances regarding it."

Shirou sighed, before he rubbed the back of his head, the place where Aoko had just hit him still stinging. "Yeah, it was surprising for me too you know." Shirou's voice trailed as he looked up once more, locking eyes with Aoko. "She just told me about it, I didn't believe her at first too but…" Shirou's voice trailed as he shook his head to clear his head. "Either way, it's happening. Nothing much else to do about it. Unless of course you want to go against the old crow herself." Shirou's tone was in jest, but Aoko took it very seriously, as she began to shake her head vigorously. Averse to the idea of fighting against that old Barthomeloi.

Shirou smiled, and Aoko saw it, and she relaxed slightly.

Aoko could only sigh as she turned around and began pacing. Her hands moving in intricate a manner that was like a teacher's. "I guess that move would make sense. But why were you dragged into this? It's my workshop you know. Sure you fought on my behalf, but you're still my student, there is absolutely no reason for her to involve you in this." Aoko stated as she stopped pacing and glanced up at Shirou, who could only manage a shrug for his response.

No sooner then after that shrug however, the sound of the heavy door opening made them turn their heads over towards it. The sight of the person entering made Aoko sigh, while it only made Shirou smile nervously.

The person's shoes clicked and clacked along the marble tiles that was the floor, her brown hair tied into a ponytail swaying as she walked, her white regal jacket with matching red puffy tie contrasted the brown of the classroom they were in, her brown/slightly reddish pants were tucked into her boots, her left hand was bare, while her right hand a silver gauntlet on it, but the way her jacket only had one sleeve, a sleeve for her left arm, leaving her right arm bare gave her rather regal look a certain oddity to it, her alabaster skin held no flaws, and her lithe right arm was picture perfect.

"I'm here." Her voice was curt, though it held a certain edge in them, and her gaze shifted from Aoko once, and then she turned to lock eyes with Shirou, only flinched away from her cold brown eyes.

An awkward permeated the silent classroom, and no one could pin the blame on anyone. The trio, for all intents and purposes, were an oddity to see in the same room. One was a distorted boy who held no sense of self, and believed that saving people was its on reward. Another, a woman with brown hair that had an uncanny ability to shift through time and potentially see the future, her powers and her name was associated with destruction, but her rather calm persona when dealing with people she didn't know deeply contrasted her true personality of being rather hotheaded and impatient to the people she considered friends. While the last one, a woman with a slightly browner hair tone than the other that was tied to a ponytail, she almost demanded perfection, her demeanor suggested that she was used to getting her way, and her eyes told you of a hidden confidence that did not need to be shown, but the way she seemed to hold herself slightly lower than the others suggested that she had a certain humbleness in her, a humbleness that she herself found to be a new experience.

All in all, the trio had nothing in common, and now they were all dragged into something they had no idea how to deal with because it was such a unique situation.

The silence reigned, it reigned until the boy with red hair, Shirou Emiya, decided to dethrone it and speak.

"So," His voice trailed as he looked from both Aoko and then over towards Lorelei. The former locking eyes with him, red eyes staring into golden ones, the latter coldly staring back, chocolate brown making the golden ones flinch slightly. "I guess you're my student now? Welcome to class!" He smiled a weak smile.

It was a weak joke, he knew that, but there really wasn't anything else to say in this situation.

Strangely enough, this seemed to make Aoko giggle slightly, while it made Lorelei smile slightly, her previously cold face softening.

Aoko then saved him, she coughed and both man and woman turned towards her. "Right, this is a new experience for me, as I've never actually thought someone before. But hopefully, what I teach my student will be transferred without trouble to his own student." She turned to Shirou, who smiled sheepishly at her, and then to Lorelei, who had a slight frown on her face. Clearly, she was still uncomfortable with this situation, but they had no choice. This needed to be done; she was given a task, a task to save the world. And Shirou would be helping her with that task.

She didn't know what would bring about the end of the world, but hopefully, training Shirou while he was training his own student wouldn't be too much trouble.

"Right, Shirou, I'll teach you about the Association later. But first," Her tone had a hidden mirth in them, and then she snapped her fingers and quietly muttered something under her breath. A pile of boxes suddenly materialized in front of her and her student. Shirou could only stare at the stack of boxes, as they were rather large and looked quite heavy. Aoko couldn't stop herself from grinning slightly wider.

"We set up my workshop. You do the heavy lifting; Me and your student will just be here telling you where to place the stuff." Aoko said through a smile.

**Fate: Zero/Night**

**XxX**

"Hello Geneva." Geneva could only sigh in resignation. She had been experiencing such a nice morning, a cup of tea in her hands, no one needed something signed, no one seemed to be complaining about their research getting stolen, nothing seemed to be wrong.

At least, until the Director of the Clock Tower showed up in front of her desk, sporting a winning grin.

"Zelretch." She kept down her sneer at seeing the man's red eyes. Like it or not, this man, this Ancestor was the Director, and a good one at that. But the fact that he would so willingly go against the nature he was born with and choose a path of bloodsucking irked her to no end. The man was a genius, a genius among geniuses, but he was also very eccentric, almost to the point of insanity actually.

"Now don't sound so standoffish, I'm merely here to discuss your interest in my chosen representative for the Grail War." Zelretch had said as he plopped down on one of the lounge chairs in front of Geneva's desk. Taking quick note of Geneva's hands, he cheerfully grinned over at her direction. Geneva could only sigh as she placed her cup down on her desk and Projected another cup in front of her. Not really bothering to look up, she wrapped her old fingers around the teapot filled with tea and proceeded to pour a cup of tea for Zelretch. Filling it just enough so that it would satisfy her guest, she placed the teapot down and moved the cup of tea over towards Zelretch, who nodded his thanks and took the cup and sipped the contents.

"Emm, I cannot understand your interest with perfection. Even to your tea preferences, it is impeccable." Zelretch complimented as he continued to sip the tea.

Geneva could only shake her head before picking back up her own cup. She raised it to her mouth and sipped, before she answered him. "The Barthomeloi believe that the Root can only be reached through perfection. Though as of the latest generations, they believe that perfection is equal to stagnation." Geneva's tone took on a detested tone as she relayed that piece of information towards Zelretch, who could only laugh uproariously, finding the situation amusing.

This only served to irk the old Barthomeloi somewhat as she narrowed her eyes at the old Ancestor, who merely raised his hand in a placating gesture. "Peace Geneva, I did not mean to insult you," His started as he once more sipped on the perfect tea. "I only find the situation rather amusing, seeing as the Barthomeloi, when they were but a mere three generation family, had explicitly written down the difference between stagnating and perfecting."

Geneva could only raise an eyebrow at those words. "Oh? They've written something like that? I do not believe that the Barthomeloi library has any records of anything pertaining to that kind of knowledge." Geneva stated as she put down her teacup and raised both hands so that they were resting just in front of her mouth. She was clearly interested in this turn of events, but of course, Zelretch only smiled at her.

"Yes, I do believe that it isn't in your library because I had taken it sometime not so long ago." His words were casual, it was accentuated as he sipped on his tea, but to Geneva, those words angered, her fury rising, she started to stand, ready to unleash her fury towards the impertinent Apostle in front of her. Director or not, the Barthomeloi library was a sacred place to the family, and this man had soiled it by not only appearing in it, but also having the gall to take a book that rightfully belonged in it.

Surprisingly though, when she raised her gaze to glare at Zelretch and scold him, she was met with a book that was levitating right in front of her face.

The book itself was rather plain and old, it had nothing but leather cover that was worn out to the point of fading slightly, the cover itself was plain, having no words etched onto it. Geneva tentatively took the book from the air and opened it to the first page, there, written in cursive handwriting that looked perfect to have been made by a machine, were the words 'Perfection and Stagnation.'

"I do believe that I forgot to return it. I thank you for reminding me Geneva, who knows how long that would have remained in my possession should you had not told me about it." Zelretch stated with a small smile as he stared at the still reading Geneva. Finally deeming that it was indeed a book from the Barthomeloi library, Geneva closed the book and stared at Zelretch.

"While I appreciate you returning the book. I would caution you from breaking and entering the Barthomeloi library in the future. I will not hesitate killing you should you invade our property and steal our books again." Geneva warned, her eyes narrowing slightly.

Zelretch could only tilt his head in confusion. "I'm sorry, but I don't quite understand your words," Zelretch began, taking a sip of his tea again. "I never broke in, and I never stole anything. I was invited into your house by a member of your family, and then I was given the chance to actually take a book from your library." Zelretch explained, his voice disinterested, which only served to irk Geneva some more.

"Regardless of my ancestor's inviting of you in our property, if you deem that you need something from our library, I will have to make sure it is something that is unimportant. I would not want something to get lost for so long that the Barthomeloi start confusing two different terms into one absolute one." Geneva narrowed her eyes; they glinted dangerously as she stared at Zelretch, who was nonplussed by her stares.

"I'll take note of that." Zelretch stated as he sipped his tea once more.

A silence then permeated the room, not an awkward one, but neither was it a comfortable one. The silence lasted for ten seconds, then a minute, and before long, the silence had lasted for five whole minutes, and only the periodic sipping of Zelretch resounded around the room once in a while. Neither party willing to say anything or discuss anything.

Taking note of the time, Geneva could only sigh, she did not have time for this. The man had just wasted ten minutes of her time, five minutes with talking, and five minutes with silence. She would need to get started with her job in a short while, so she looked up at Zelretch, staring into his red eyes.

"What did you need?" Geneva asked, and Zelretch finally placed his now empty teacup on the table the cup immediately shattered and turned into prana shards.

"Like I had said, I'm here to discuss your interest in my representative for the upcoming Grail War in Fuyuki city." Zelretch stated as he narrowed his eyes and locking eyes with Geneva's dull green ones. She didn't even flinch.

"Oh? And who might you be talking about?" Geneva asked, though she already had an idea as to who he was talking about.

"Shirou Emiya." That gave her a reason to widen her eyes. Emiya, the Magus Killer. What was the boy's relation with him?

"I know no one of that name, but I do know someone named Shirou. Tell me, does he have red hair, and can Trace weapons?" Her words were calculated, if he answered no, then she needn't worry too much about Shirou. But if he had answered yes…

"Why yes. I do believe that's him. Has he not told you of his full name yet?" Zelretch asked, his voice filled with curiosity. Geneva could only shake her head as she sighed. Leave it to Zelretch to just ignore all hidden meanings and traps.

"He is an Emiya? What is his relation to the Magus Killer?" Geneva questioned, her tone indicating that she didn't want any other answer except a straight one.

Zelretch merely shrugged his shoulders before he leaned back. "He is his father." He stated without pause.

However, this gave Geneva her own reason to pause, absorbing the information with a critical eye. Finally, she leaned forward and stared at Zelretch. "I do not recall the Magus Killer having children." Her voice indicated that that doubled as a question, and that she was genuinely interested in this turn of events.

"Well, as of right now, the Magus Killer probably doesn't know anything about him." Zelretch stated as he put a hand on the bottom of his chin and hummed. Closing his eyes as he did so.

Geneva could only raise an eyebrow before she spoke up once more. "Oh? Why would that be?" She asked, but to her disappointment, Zelretch only shook his head.

"I'm afraid I cannot say anything more, but I do appreciate you trying to get my mouth running." Zelretch grinned before he tapped the floor with his cane, the resounding clack resounded across the room, almost as if it was a signal for something to happen.

Though, unsurprisingly for Geneva, nothing did.

"Moving on," Geneva began once more, staring back at Zelretch's grinning face. "You said that Shirou was your representative for the Grail War, the upcoming one, which, if I'm not mistaken, will occur in roughly two years time." Geneva stated, and Zelretch nodded, his face morphing into one of seriousness.

"Listen well Geneva Barthomeloi," Zelretch's voice echoed through Geneva's office, the weapons hanging on the walls shuddered as his voice reverberated; the floors seemed to shake, and the ceiling trembled as Zelretch's voice bounced off of everything. Geneva did not even flinch. "Your interest in him may be flattering, but I tell you now, if you choose to impede his preordained course, then I will have to step in and stop you from doing so."

His warning confused Geneva greatly, what was this old man rambling about?

Geneva opened her mouth to speak, but Zelretch was already answering her unasked question. "Shirou was sent here to save this world. Right now, he is the closest to a savior your world will be getting in a long while. I have seen the future of this world Geneva, and there is nothing but darkness that clouds it. I do not know if this is the world after a catastrophe so great that it would envelope the world in darkness, or if the darkness only clouds the future. Either way, I see the future, and I see nothing." Zelretch stated, and this time, Geneva did stand, her hands slamming onto the desk and her wide eyes staring at Zelretch.

"Are you positive of this?" Her voice was slightly trembling now; a creeping feeling of dread began to spread across her body. This had been a fear she had hidden for awhile now, but now it looks like it would be coming true.

Zelretch might have been an Apostle, a Vampire, and a freak of nature. But for all he was, he was rarely wrong. He spoke the truth, and he spoke it clearly. His control of the second magic, the Kaleidoscope gave him a certain clairvoyance for the different worlds in the infinite spaces. When he said something as dangerous as not being able to see the future of a certain world, then she would take it seriously.

Zelretch nodded at Geneva, who exhaled a breath she didn't know she had been holding and slumped into her chair. This was- this was big, quite big. No, extremely big.

"I understand that this may be hard to take in, but I must ask you to let the boy run his course through this world." Zelretch stated as he stood up, before he tapped his cane on the ground once more. "For you see, he is an outsider in this world, an outsider that has the power to actually save it."

Zelretch spun around, his cape bellowing as he did so. "Now, I must be off. I must investigate this shadowed future, and I will try to decipher if this world will be any different then its neighbor."

His words were cryptic, yet, it made perfect sense to Geneva. She didn't say anything as he merely faded from reality, his corporal form moving from this world to the next.

His words, they may have been cryptic, but she understood what they meant.

In the infinite spaces of the multiverse, many different worlds float side by side. Now, you may think that they are all different, that they do not resemble each other at all. And you would be forgiven for thinking that, but that is wrong. The multiverse consists of an infinite number of repeating worlds that ran through the same course of history over and over again.

And once infinity was reached, the world would shift slightly, creating another infinite number of worlds that the same history will keep repeating into.

As confusing as that was, it made perfect sense. Now, take one world from a line of repeating worlds, and then shove a complete new person into it. Then the future of that world would not only be unique to its line, but also completely different as well.

Geneva sighed, before she picked up her teapot and poured herself some more tea. She placed the teapot down and gripped the teacup in her hands; the tea was no longer hot, but mildly lukewarm now. But she did not mind, she did not even notice at all.

Shirou Emiya… The name of a person that she would either exalt for saving this world, or curse for all eternity for destroying it. Either way, she would need to keep a closer watch on him.

**XxX**

Touko could only watch in amusement as Shirou struggled with the heavy boxes Aoko was ordering him to carry around the classroom.

She corrected herself, it wasn't a classroom anymore. As of right now, Classroom b1A was Aoko's own workshop. And, as much as she abhorred the idea of being so close to Aoko and her workshop. She had no other choice. She was Designated herself, and much to her ire, Aoko got away scot-free because of her own apprentice convincing the Vice-Director to take it easy on her.

She shook her head as she took another deep whiff of her cigarette. Well, at least it wasn't without recompense. Aoko had just given her a very early birthday present, in the form of someone who held a Noble Phantasm in his body.

It had come as a surprise to her actually. After Aoko had begged her (it wasn't really begging, but more like she asked her begrudgingly) to help her student after his little duel with the Barthomeloi, she needed to actually look him over, both inside and out.

She smirked a little as she remembered Shirou's face as he realized that he had been stripped naked by a woman while he was unconscious. And she had to admit, he was rather well built. Both on the upper body, the lower body, and the _lower_ body.

But that wasn't what gave her pause, even if he was rather large in the barge; the thing that caught her eye was his rather large scar on his chest and on his back. Both star shaped and looked like they were painful when he had received them, not to mention that one was the entry wound, the other the exit wound. Quite a strange sight to see on someone so young, but nonetheless, it was amazing to actually see him still walking around after he had received a wound that grievous.

It was obvious that whatever struck him had pierced his heart as it did so. So either he had an inherent healing spell that managed to heal his heart after getting pierced so thoroughly, or that he had a healing item that managed to revive him from the brink of death.

She took another whiff of her cigarette. It had turned out, it was both.

He had a Noble Phantasm in him, and not just any Noble Phantasm, he had King Arthur's sheath for Excalibur in him. Avalon itself.

She knew of Avalon of course, how could that hollowed scabbard be anything else but that? It was golden, it was exquisite, and it held a power unlike that of anything she would ever see in her lifetime. Yes, that golden scabbard with blue outlines was undoubtedly Excalibur's legendary sheath, the sheath that had allowed Arthur to fight for days on end without resting, that healed all his wounds, and that prevented him from spilling an inordinate amount of blood.

But that wasn't all. Digging deeper into his body, she had tried to view him without her glasses. And to her surprise, his points that connected him to his death were not only extremely faint, but also extremely… silver. Almost like they were made from steel, if one would actually target them, they would find to their surprise that not only were they tougher than the regular points of a regular person, but they were also extremely hard to find.

She had a multitude of things running through her mind when she had found out he had Avalon in him and that his points of death were nowhere near normal. But all of it was merely conjecture and had no solid ground to stand on. She had wanted so badly to vivisect him right then and there, but she held back. There would be no use after all, any and all wounds that he would receive would not only heal at an astounding rate, but also because Aoko would probably kill her and half of London itself if she had found out she was vivisecting him.

Yeah, as much as she wanted to, the cons outweighed the pros by an extremely large margin.

So, she decided she would take another route. She would just ask him directly about it. He was extremely naïve as well as trusting. And though she did feel a little bad about trying to find his secrets, her inner Magus screamed at her to do so and do so with haste.

Shirou was not a normal Magus, he had a strange way of Projecting that allowed him to replicate Noble Phantasms at will, he had a Noble Phantasm in him that healed him at an alarming rate, and the way he carried himself, the way that he had fought, it was almost like he wanted to die.

She shrugged to herself, she'll get answers eventually. Hopefully, before the next Grail War.

Ah yes, she had almost forgotten about that little bit of information.

He was also a Master for the upcoming Grail War. That little tidbit of info made her sigh, not only was her possible research material wanted to see himself get killed, but Fate had decided that it would help him by making him join a ritual that almost always ensured that only one man would survive.

She would not allow that, no, not when she had questions that needed answering.

Yes, as of right now. Touko Aozaki would be steadily trying to get to Shirou. He was holding something, and she would be damned if she didn't figure out what he was hiding. Akasha was waiting for her, and she will not be denied!

**XxX**

"Right here?" Shirou asked as he looked up at Aoko, who nodded at him, her long brown hair bobbing with her. Shirou looked at the piece of paper in his hand, and then down on the wooden ground, before he shrugged and placed the square piece of paper on the ground. Almost immediately after he did however, the piece of paper began glowing.

"Whoa!" He had lost count on the number of times he had shouted that word, he had spent the better part of two hours carefully placing Aoko's items to her specifications in the room. From where boxes would sit, to where her desk would stay, he had done it all. And most of the things he did were back breaking labor.

Shirou snapped out of his thoughts as a bright light suddenly began to envelope the classroom they were staying in, including them.

"H-hey! What's happe-?!" He didn't get to finish that sentence as the light suddenly enveloped him as well. Covering his eyes to try and block out the searing white light, he waited for any burning, but to his surprise, there was none.

The light lingered for a few more seconds, before it steadily began to die down. The light seemed to hum as the power it was holding started dying down.

Finally, the light was now gone, and he removed his arms from his eyes, and he could only stare at the room they were now in.

Gone was the classroom that was known as b1A and replacing it was another room entirely. A room that had white walls made of stone, and had a grey floor made of marble.

He quietly took in the classroom, and he couldn't help but whistle. Magic was certainly something else.

"Well, do you like it?" Aoko's voice sounded from behind him, and he could only nod dumbly, this was amazing to him.

"I find it rather dreary." The third person in the room suddenly said, and Shirou could only turn his head towards his student.

That word was so foreign to him, and he still couldn't wrap his mind around the fact that he himself had a student when he was only a third class Magus. It was a shock to have someone that is fundamentally better than you be your student. But it was the agreed upon contract.

He would take Lorelei as his student, and Geneva would agree to have Aoko's workshop at the Clock Tower.

It was a win-win situation, well, for Aoko and Geneva that is. To him, it was rather, what was the word? Random? Arbitrary? A trap? Whatever it was, it was still a loss to Shirou as to why Geneva would actually send her granddaughter and sign her teaching over to him.

"Oh? And what would you have done Miss Perfect?" Aoko questioned Lorelei with a critical eye, it was obvious she didn't take having her workshop get insulted.

Lorelei took a look around the workshop, humming as she did so, her right arm raising to her chin as she grasped it with her gauntlet. "Well, for one, I would the desks. You don't really need them as of now." Lorelei pointed to the desks that had been part of the classroom the workshop had been previously. True, the desks were large and rather grand for a workshop, also quite out of place as well, but Shirou liked seeing them there. If it was left bare, then the workshop would just look like a barren place with the items pushed to the walls. The room was rather large itself, as it was originally a lecture room meant to hold a whole cast of students.

Aoko snorted at Lorelei's criticism. "If I did that, the room would be bare. Besides, I'm actually thinking of opening my workshop for lectures." Aoko stated matter-of-factly as she walked past Shirou and over towards the teacher's desk that was still there.

Shirou looked at Lorelei, who was merely scowling at Aoko's back, before he shrugged and turned around. Taking in his handiwork.

The boxes had nothing much in them, but the items they did hold were rather heavy. Most of the items were clock pieces, springs, oils, etc. He had asked Aoko what was with all the clocks, and she merely told him that she needed them since they helped with her branch of Magic. And it was only then did Shirou remember that she had a certain control with time. But still, the clocks were still a mystery, and he had persisted with the question.

All Aoko did was answer him with a shrug before she directed him to continue unpacking the boxes. Much to his exasperation.

The clocks consisted of a multitude of forms. From grandfather clocks, to wristwatches, heck, he had seen digital clocks as well. And to his and Aoko's amusement, when Lorelei had seen the digital clock, she had inquired as to what it was. She hadn't seen one before, and it peaked her interest.

He shook his head to clear his head before he stared at the clocks by the right side of the teacher's desk. Their ticking sounded as one and that particular corner had a whole cast of clocks that they covered most of the wall by the teacher's desk. Still, they may look like regular clocks, but a quick Grasping of them when he had moved them told him otherwise. He would inquire about it soon, but right now, he would have to respect Aoko's magic. Besides, he was her student, and he was sure she would tell him soon enough.

He glanced once more at the clocks, before he turned his attention to the other side of the room, and to the bare wall that was supposed to be his corner of the workshop itself.

He sighed as he moved over towards it; it was bare for a reason after all. He had nothing to start with, and he had no idea how to start a workshop himself. The only thing he knew of making a workshop was tinkering on items he had no idea how they worked. He had a workshop before, but all it had were mechanical items that he was working on for the people that had asked him for help. Of course, he knew that a workshop was there to help your magic develop, but right now, he had no idea how to start researching on his magic, as he really had no idea how his world worked at all.

Sighing one last time at the empty wall that was to be his corner, he turned around and walked over towards Aoko. Who was busy scoring through the pieces of paper that she had him place on the teacher's desk beforehand.

He didn't pry into them as he placed them on the desk, but still, he was curious as to what they contained. But he reigned in his curiosity, again, Aoko would tell him when the time was right. But as of right now, there was another pressing matter to attend to.

"So," Shirou began, garnering the scowling Lorelei and reading Aoko's attention. "What now?" He finished as he walked over towards Aoko, who had returned her attention on the piece of paper she was holding.

"I just need to make some last minute touch-ups on my Bounded field. You and your student can do whatever you wan-"

"Yes. I would recommend you do make adjustments to this abysmal excuse of a Bounded field." A familiar voice resounded across the lecture room, and immediately, Shirou's head snapped around as his eyes darted around to find the intruder. He relaxed visibly as he spotted a head of red hair with matching red eyes and glasses over them.

Shirou could hear Aoko mutter something under her breath before she turned around and glared at the intruder that was known as Touko Aozaki.

"What are you doing here? No, scratch that. How did you get in here at all?" Aoko's asked rather irritably. Glaring up at her sister Touko who was walking down the steps over towards the trio.

"You should really check your surroundings first you know. I can just imagine how hard it'll be to actually work with you chasing down Dead Apostles." Touko commented as she moved past Lorelei, who was giving her an inquisitive look herself.

"She's an Enforcer?" Lorelei asked, and Aoko merely shook her head.

"No. I'm a freelancer. At least, that was what I was before Zelretch took me in to tutor me." Aoko explained to Lorelei as she crossed her arms over her chest, still quietly glaring at Touko.

"That still doesn't answer my question. How did you get in here?" Aoko asked, clearly losing patience with her sister.

Touko merely rolled her eyes and snorted. "Like I said. You should inspect your surroundings better. I've been here the whole time watching Shirou here do your dirty work." Touko explained as she took out another cigarette and lit it. She took a whiff, before she stared at Aoko once more. "If this is how you treat your students, then I may as well take him for myself. He will benefit from me better than from you." Touko stated as she moved her gaze from Aoko towards Shirou, who smiled sheepishly at Touko.

Shirou opened her mouth to speak, but Aoko beat him to it. "No. He's my responsibility, and I won't have you taking something that I have responsibility over." Aoko stated as she turned around and began to sort through her papers once more.

Shirou saw it for a brief second, he saw Touko's eyes narrow, and then turn ungodly silver.

"Oh? Are those words meant for me, or for yourself Aoko?" Touko's words cut through the air, and almost immediately, Aoko stopped sifting through her stack of papers, and turned around, her hair starting to turn a shade of red.

"Those are words meant for you. You've always been a child, holding a grudge against someone that didn't want to take it away from you in the first place." Aoko's voice was calm, but the power behind her words seemed to shake the air itself.

Shirou heard something winding up, and he turned towards the clocks that he had painstakingly placed on the other side of the room. To his surprise, the clocks were winding up much faster than normal.

"Oh? And why would I hold a grudge against someone that denied everything about that privilege? That would be petty of me now won't it?" Touko stated as she steadily moved her hands up to her glasses, gripping the edges of it, and, from Shirou point of view, she looked like she was going to take them off.

Aoko's hair started turning redder as she saw what Touko was doing. But a clear voice resounded, stopping them both from doing anything rash.

"You will cease this immediately!" It was Lorelei's voice, and her voice was cold and full of confidence. Almost authoritarian as well.

This had the desired effect of Aoko cooling down, and Touko moving her hands away from her glasses as well. Both took one last glance at one another, and they huffed and turned from each other.

"Whatever this spat is on about, it can wait." Lorelei's voice was a voice that was meant to lead, as it could even wilt both Touko and Aoko from their spat. "This is a sacred ground for research alone. And you Touko," Lorelei stated as she walked up towards both girls, standing right in the middle of them both as she stared at the red haired puppet woman. "Are trespassing on a Mages workshop. Inside the Clock Tower no less. This is grounds for execution itself, if the owner of the workshop itself didn't take it in their hands to do so instead." Lorelei stated, and Touko merely snorted at her warnings.

"You don't have to remind me, I'll take my leave." Touko stated as she took one last glance at Aoko, she snorted and turned around, quietly making herself up the steps and over towards the door.

As she reached the door however, she turned around, and her gaze met Shirou's own. "Be careful with your teacher kid, she may just as well take everything from you." Touko stated as she turned and opened the door. Walking out as she did so.

The door closed with a resounding smack, and a palpable silence permeated the air.

No one moved, and no one said anything, they only opted to stare at each other. Unsure of how to proceed after that particular warning.

Shirou sighed, garnering the other two's attention to him. "I don't know why you two went at each others throats like that," Shirou began as he smiled at Aoko, who stared at him with her red eyes and slightly red hair. "But I trust you. I mean, it's not like I have a choice right?" Shirou stated as he smiled at her, hoping that it was convincing.

Thankfully, it seemed to do the trick as Aoko smiled back, her hair reverting back to its regular brown.

"Thanks Shirou." The words were light, but it had deep meaning into it. Shirou couldn't help but smile.

"Excuse me," Lorelei spoke up, garnering both Shirou's and Aoko's attention. They both turned towards her, and Lorelei merely stared at both of them with her cold eyes. "But what are we supposed to do now? We need a schedule, a way of dividing the time to when he is being taught, he is teaching, and when I can leave."

It was obvious who Lorelei was talking about, and it was also obvious that she did not like talking about him at all.

Aoko only sighed before she turned around, and moved over towards her stack of papers once more. "I don't know about a schedule. But I'll be taking Shirou with me when I'm freelancing. He has skills to actua-" Aoko suddenly stopped talking, and it had looked like she suddenly had a sudden clarity.

"That crafty woman." Aoko exclaimed as she smiled, surprising Shirou and thoroughly confusing Lorelei.

"What?" Shirou questioned as he looked at Aoko, who couldn't help but smile as she went through her stacks of papers in renewed vigor.

"I think I just figured out why grandma wanted Lorelei to be your student." Aoko stated as if Lorelei wasn't in the same room as them. Which turned the confusion from Lorelei into mild anger.

"I'm right here Aoko." Lorelei's voice was laced with slight annoyance and anger, but for the most part, she looked just as curious as to what reason her own grandmother could have for apprenticing her to a Magus that barely knew anything about the magical world.

Aoko turned towards Lorelei and grinned at her, before she proceeded to throw a stack of papers towards Shirou, who managed to catch it just barely. Shirou raised an eyebrow in question, and Aoko only pointed towards the papers in his hands, gesturing for him to read it.

"Aemulo?" Shirou read the name right above a picture of a man that…. Looked like a human but the way his face looked degraded and melting made him think he was anything but human at all.

"You can't be serious…" Lorelei said, her voice sounding exasperated and surprised. Further confusing Shirou even more.

"Did I miss something?" Shirou asked, and Aoko could only smile as she spoke up.

"Grandma wanted you to teach Miss Perfect over here," She pointed a thumb over towards Lorelei, who quietly sighed, almost resigning to her fate. "To fight like you do. I've no idea how that would work, but I guess that she just wants you to imprint something to her granddaughter that'll help her in the future."

Okay.

…

…

…

"Wait what?" Shirou exclaimed as he stared at a scowling Lorelei, and a smiling Aoko. "That doesn't make sense. And what does this guy, 'Aemulo' have to do with me teaching Lorelei?"

Aoko just gave him an insufferable grin.

Lorelei continued to scowl.

"Because Shirou," Aoko began, her grin scaring Shirou slightly. "Aemulo is a Dead Apostle Ancestor candidate, and we'll be hunting him down."

**XxX**

**Yup, next arc incoming.**

**Anyway, This chapter had a lot of things going on you say? Well, I agree. Anyway. Hooray for more oc's… But seriously, it's hard to write something about the Nasuverse that can so casually flow into it. Oc's even more so than magical items. Anyway, Aemulo to be the last. At least, one of the last.**

**As for Lorelei being Shirou's student. Read between the lines people. Or, if you can't do that, wait until the next chapter.**

**Right, now I can get to turning Shirou slightly from the innocent Faker that he is, into something even more. He is getting thrust into the magical world more and more, and no one is stopping to help him. Hell, he won't stop as well, because that is in his nature. To help people, even at the cost of his life.**

**Anyway, to celebrate the last chapter, which got 30… I still can't comprehend that fact. 30 reviews, I will answer a question from the first five reviewers that are non-anonymous, and from the first five PMs.**

**Now for my sake, I won't be answering questions like, 'What is the pairing?' or 'What'll happen during the Grail War itself?' As I've to plan them into detail. But I will answer any questions you may have, this includes asking about who Shirou's planned Servant is. But of course, I won't answer questions about my private life.**

**So go ahead, review away, or pm me, I promise I will answer your questions as straightly as I can.**

**Anyway… Yeah I'm getting lazy again, this chapter isn't proofread.**

**Also this chapter is more along the lines of what'll happen next. With Zelretch looking into the dark future, to Lorelei becoming Shirou's student, Shirou learning from Aoko, Geneva and Touko looking into Shirou, and Aemulo, well, expect a lot to happen.**

**Yeah, that's it. Anyway, remember, the first five reviews and pms will get their questions answered.**

**C.O.Y.L out, peace.**


	9. Blunted Swords

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

**Some of you guys are mad that I keep mentioning Rin, some of you are mad that I'm introducing a boat load of Oc's. Well, let me just say, deal with it.**

**I keep mentioning Rin because as of right now. Shirou is still in love with her. Though he doesn't really know this, he has feelings for her. True, they never really got 'together' until after the Grail War, but as of right now, Shirou has unknown feelings for Rin because he lacked any sort of closure towards it. He was pulled abruptly away from her, so he never really got to develop his feelings fully. He is still in love with her, no doubt, but yeah… I don't want to spoil anything because Shirou's growth is correlated to his feelings for Rin.**

**As for Oc's? Well, you try writing a deep and engaging fic with characters that aren't as developed as you need and you need to think up stuff. Yeah, it would be hard now wouldn't it? I can't really use any of the known Apostle Ancestors since most, if not all, of them would kill Shirou, Lorelei, and probably Aoko. Not to mention some of them are unknown variables as well. The wiki offers brief descriptions but that is all. Don't worry though; the oc's I'm making are believable, take Geneva for example. I made her into a person that cared about perfection, but her love for family overwrites that, so much so that she would embarrass her own granddaughter to teach said granddaughter a lesson.**

**Anyway, continuing on. I don't get what's wrong with From Fake Dreams. I really don't. It is well made, with believable characters, and good scenes. True, it's gotten out of hand, but that's the beauty of the imagination. You can think up stuff, and there is absolutely no limit on it. Anyway, I guess it's up to the writer to write believable ways to incorporate ways his imagination would fit into the world he/she is writing. But either way, if you guys are worried that I won't make this believable and make it go out of hand, don't worry. I know what I'm doing.**

**Anyway, the five reviews are out, but the pm's are still open. Four questions that I will answer, no holding back. Some asked for who Shirou's servant is, and I told them. Some asked about Avalon, I also told them. If you've got questions, pm me now. Actually, make those four questions to five, I'm feeling particularly generous today. :D**

**On with the story!**

**XxX**

"You're quite active lately aren't you?" A disembodied voice resounded through the hallowed halls of a castle. The one being addressed inclined his head to the right, towards the window with moonlight shining through it.

There, perched on the windowsill, was a small black raven bird with red eyes. The man sneered; making his already grotesque melting face even more jarring to look at.

The bird didn't even flinch as it stared impassively at the grotesque sight before it.

"What are you doing here?" The man's voice sounded irate and impatient, his red eyes shining slightly as he stared at the bird in front of him. Contemplating whether or not he should destroy it, possibly through impalement.

The bird opened its mouth as if to caw, but instead of cawing, the sound of a man's voice resounded through it. "I have only come to offer you the position again. It is still open after all, though Louvre himself might take it if you keep denying it." The bird had said, and the man only sneered once more.

"I do not care about the position of 19th. Give it to him for all I care, I'm much to busy to have Executors and Enforcers breathing down my neck all the time." The man stated, his voice showing his displeasure in being the offered a position he did not care in the least about.

The bird tilted his head as if it was confused, before it opened its mouth once more. "Some would gladly massacre for this prestigious position, why do you hesitate?" It asked.

The man shook his head whilst chuckling, though his laughing sounded rather hysterical. "I'm not hesitating in the least, I merely do not want the position, and no matter how many times you offer it to me, my answer will be the same." He said as he glared at the bird.

The bird once more opened its mouth. "Truth be told, I'm rather glad you did not accept. Having you amongst our ranks would prove to be a liability, what with your unique powers." The bird said, its beak closing sharply as if to show its relief.

The man laughed once more, his melted face sagging slightly as he did so. "If that is meant to be a blow to my pride, you will have to try harder than that." He stated, amused at the notion of having any pride at all.

The bird seemed to sneer; it inclined its head to the side and then opened its mouth. "Ah yes, I had forgotten, you're nothing but a Faker." The bird stated, clearly displeased with the word itself.

The man's eyes narrowed, his sagging face seemed to bubble slightly, and his face began morphing somewhat into a different form. "Watch your tongue, I am no mere Faker bird!" He shouted his indignation at being compared to a Faker, the very thought itself was preposterous to him; it was a direct insult to his power!

The bird scoffed, before it turned its head once more, staring back at the angered man in front of him. "You dislike being called a Faker, yet your power itself makes you fake. What a hypocritical sense of self you have." The bird stated with a sneer.

Crack!

The bird managed to fly upwards, dodging a sword that had imbedded itself on its place on the windowsill. Strangely though, when the sword imbedded itself on the windowsill made of stone, the stone spilt in two, but rather then continue downwards to the bottom, the sword stuck itself in the middle of the stone slab and pulverized its center, sending a small cloud of dust outwards. The bird narrowed its eyes at the man that was holding the sword, clearly displeased at having been attacked.

"I will come back, but do please take heed Aemulo. Your actions are garnering attention to yourself; soon enough, the Enforcers and Executors that you are evading so much will come looking for your head." The bird warned before it gave one last mighty Caw! And disappeared into the dead of night. Leaving the grotesque man to himself as he stared at the sword that he had created.

Glancing up towards the horizon where the bird disappeared, Aemulo could only sigh as he removed the sword from the windowsill. Staring at it and inspecting it. It wasn't badly crafted, but nonetheless, it was only of average make. He discarded the sword by throwing it out of the window.

"Let them come then, my research is almost complete." The grotesque man stated as his face returned to its melted look, all signs of it moving and bubbling had disappeared.

Aemulo took one last look out the window, noting that the sword he had thrown had yet to reach the bottom, before he turned around.

He smiled to himself as he heard the sword collide with metal, the sound of his average creation crashing against the forest of swords that surrounded his castle never got old.

**Fate: Zero/Night**

**XxX**

"What a demeaning way of research." A voice sounded from right behind Shirou, surprising him greatly as he dropped the object he was tinkering with.

With a crash, the small table clock met the ground, shattering the wooden frame and sending all its contents scattering across the ground.

"Damn it…" Shirou grumbled under his breath as he watched two days of work go down the drain.

Sighing, he swiveled his chair to glare at his student. She was nonplussed however as she merely raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms over her chest. And once more, Shirou found his eyes darting towards her exposed right arm with a gauntlet on it. His earlier indignation turning into apprehensiveness.

His student noticed his gaze, and she couldn't help but sigh. This had been happening for the past week, ever since he found out what she had done to her arm, his eyes always darted towards it whenever they were in close proximity to each other.

Rather then being flattered by it, the Barthomeloi was insulted by his caring attitude.

"Will you stop staring at it." It wasn't a question, it was an order. It was insulting to her to have her previous opponent turned teacher stare at it. It had been her greatest mistake, and it was also her greatest lesson. But she did not want him staring at it for a good reason.

"I can't help it okay?" Shirou stated with a sigh before he turned away from looking at Lorelei's arm and turn his attention towards picking up the pieces of the table clock he had been working on. "Every time I see it, I feel guilty, I embarrassed you pretty badly."

It was the truth, she had been embarrassed thoroughly, but that had been her mistake, not his. Lorelei could only shake her head, annoyed at his pig-headedness. "It was my mistake, not yours. Stop treating it like it's your responsibility." Lorelei stated as she too bent down to help her teacher look for the pieces of the clock, surprising Shirou greatly.

"Hey, I can do this just fi-" He stopped mid-sentence as Lorelei glared at him, stopping him from making any other comment. He took one last apprehensive look at Lorelei, before he sighed and began to pick up the pieces next to Lorelei.

"Anyway, if you don't want me staring at your arm, can you at least cover it up?" He pleaded with her, though he already knew what she was going to say, he counted to three, and right on cue…

"Absolutely not." There it was, he wasn't surprised, merely exasperated with her logic, speaking of which… "To cover it up would mean to deny my mistakes. To deny my mistakes would mean to deny my path towards perfection. I aim to grow, grow to be perfect, and grandmother had stated that to be perfect means you accept your imperfect past, and look towards a perfect future." Lorelei stated with a hidden passion in her eyes, and Shirou couldn't help but sigh and accept that she wasn't going to listen to him.

"And grandmother had also said that-"

"That I would be a good teacher on the path to perfection, yeah, I got that." Shirou stated with a slight scowl. He didn't get that logic, not in the least. How was he supposed to teach Lorelei to become perfect? Even his magic wasn't perfect, it was almost always degraded. It was a strange notion trying to teach perfection when you yourself are not even close to perfection.

"I still don't understand why I'm your teacher Lorelei." Shirou muttered under his breath, clearly so that his student couldn't hear him. But nonetheless, she had heard him and she stared at him blankly.

"Quite frankly, me too." She stated, and Shirou couldn't help but flinch slightly. She was brutally honest wasn't she?

"But nonetheless, I will trust my grandmother's judgment, no matter how strange it may be." Lorelei stated as she handed Shirou the parts that she had picked up. Shirou couldn't help but sigh once more. Brutally honest indeed.

"Anyway can you at least cover it up when you're around me? Please?" He pleaded to her as he stood up and placed the parts on his desk, sighing as he stared at the broken clock that he had been working on for two days straight. It wasn't that big a deal really, but he had been close to actually making it do something. What that something was, he didn't know, but he could feel that he had been close. Now he had to restart…

Fighting back the sigh he wanted to release, he turned back towards Lorelei, who was scowling at him, clearly not amused at his earlier plead after she had already stated why she didn't want to do just that. And he couldn't help but release that sigh he had been holding.

'She's/He's pigheaded.' They both thought at the same time, staring at each other.

They snapped out of their reverie however as the rather large double doors that was at the back of the classroom turned workshop open. Aoko stepping inside whilst holding a stack of papers under her arms.

Spotting her student, she smiled and made her way over towards him, the large double doors behind her closing with a thud! As she did so.

"Hey Shirou." Aoko greeted with a smile, before she turned towards the other person in the room. Her smile turning into a slight smirk. "Miss Perfect." She nodded at Lorelei.

Lorelei was nonplussed as she merely glanced at her and returned the nod. "Miss Blue." She said with as much fake curtness as she could muster.

Aoko huffed at hearing her nickname, before she returned her attention towards Shirou, smiling once more as she pushed the stack of papers in her hands towards Shirou, who gave her a questioning look. "I got it." She stated with a smile, further confusing Shirou as he stared at the pieces of papers he was holding.

"Got what?" He asked as he flipped through the papers in his hands, his eyes widened in surprise at the contents, and Lorelei couldn't help but wonder what was so interesting with the papers he was holding.

"What is it?" Lorelei asked as she moved closer towards Shirou and bumped shoulders with him, staring at the papers he was holding in front of him. Soon enough, she too, had wide eyes as she took in the information written on the pieces of paper.

"That was faster than I thought possible." Lorelei stated as she stared at Aoko with a newfound respect. Aoko returned her stare with a grin.

"I've got my sources." She stated cryptically, but her grin squashed her mysterious air. Shirou continued to flip through the pages, carefully taking in each and every detail that was written on the pieces papers. His shoulders shaking slightly as he stared at the images.

It was their targets personal information, name, age, family, residence, etc.

Shirou eyed the first page as he took in the man they were supposed to hunt.

**Name: Aemulo (Currently no last name)**

**Age: Over 700 years old. (Exact age unknown)**

**Family: None**

**Residence: Last known residence was in Rome, but the subject may have moved after his last massacre.**

The list went on, and Shirou could help but stare at the picture of the man, it was taken from afar, and it was blurry, but nonetheless, the image gave you a clear view of the man's disfigured face.

From his white hair that drooped to the side of his face, covering his right eye, one would think he looked rather like a recluse. And from the man's face, no one would blame him. The entire right side of his face was melting, almost like it had been in an oven for far too long.

The man stood out, it wouldn't be hard to find him in a sea of people. But as Shirou continued to read on, the more he doubted you would see him in a crowd. Unless the crowd was on the ground, losing body parts.

**Rank: Dead Apostle Ancestor candidate**

**Description of abilities: Though not much is known about Aemulo in terms of his magic and skills, his recent findings in his magic have garnered him a Sealing Designation. It is unknown just what exactly his branch of magic does, but from recent reports from familiars that are tasked with watching him, and from a personal eyewitness report from multiple other Ancestors that are working closely with us. It is said that his magic closely resembles the First True Magic. Though these are merely rumors, the association has deemed him a priority Designate.**

**Description of appearance: Aemulo's exact age is unknown, but from our personal research, Aemulo is said to look like he is in his early sixties or late fifties. The entire right side of his face looks like it had been melted, whether this is because of accident or because he was born with it is currently unknown. His white hair usually covers the right side of his face up to his eyes, whether this is because of preference or because he hides his deformed face, is unclear. Typical of any other Dead Apostle, Aemulo has red eyes. He also grows stronger as the full moon approaches.**

**Recommended approach: Take caution as not much is known about his abilities. Though as a Dead Apostle, he has typical vampiric powers. Take caution when you injure him, as he can heal himself using time magic that all Dead Apostles are known for. His closeness to the first True Magic is currently unknown, we recommend that all hunters have backup in case of unknown anomalies surrounding his mysteries.**

As Shirou read through his background, he couldn't help but think about what exactly the First True Magic was. He would ask Aoko, preferable soon, as he didn't want to go into this fight without information.

His frown returned however, as he stared at the next page, this one filled with the incident reports supposedly caused by Aemulo.

Bodies mutilated by sharp objects, and although swords were suspected, it still hadn't been confirmed if swords were used at all. Heads cut in half with the body having multiple stab wounds through the heart, lungs, and stomach. Legs and arms diced and the main body left in tatters.

Each and every image he saw was related to the Dead Apostle he was supposed to hunt with Aoko and Lorelei, yet, the images of death, the images of mutilated corpses and broken up cadavers made him furious.

He wanted to kill him, the person behind these grotesque attacks, he wanted to mutilate him like he had mutilated the corpses, he wanted to kill him.

A hand on his shoulder made him stop shaking in fury, and he looked to his right, his golden eyes staring into Aoko's red ones. "Don't let your emotions take control Shirou. You'll only be meeting your grave earlier if you do that." She stated.

Shirou heard her words, and he took a deep breath, he needed to calm down about this. Getting angry now wouldn't do anything except make him want to charge at the monster without a plan. Which would only lead him to his early grave.

No, he couldn't allow that to happen. He needed to calm down, he wasn't fighting against Gilgamesh, this one had didn't have an ego as that golden armored man. He needed to think, he didn't want to die because he was charging through everything.

Aoko smiled as she let go of his shoulder. "Good, you're thinking about the future." She said, garnering Shirou's attention and raised eyebrow. "Two days ago, you would have asked where he was hiding, and then you would have charged at him. I'm glad that you're not doing that now." Aoko stated with a smile.

Shirou rubbed the back of his head rather sheepishly. He didn't know what to say to that, so he said the first things that came to his mind. "Well, you did say to trust you about it didn't you? And you're lessons about the Dead Apostles really puts things in perspective y'know?"

It was true after all, the past two days, Aoko did nothing but drill him about Dead Apostles, otherwise known as Vampires. At first, he was still rather unconvinced that vampires existed. But as Aoko explained the situation with the Dead Apostles to him, the more he was convinced that they were truly freaks of nature that wanted death and destruction.

Aoko had quashed that thought almost instantly however, as she explained that not all Dead Apostles were malevolent. Some merely wished to live in peace, while some sought to cure their vampirism all together. He was surprised to find out that not all Dead Apostles were turned willingly, and that some of them woke up one day to find out they had been turned and were subjugated against their wills.

Of course, Aoko also explained the concept of ghouls to him. How Dead Apostles were before they actually regained their mind. Ghouls were soulless husks of lower vampires that wanted nothing more than to satiate their inner desire of blood and gore. They fed on people instinctively, and once they have eaten enough, they revert back to their previous persona before they had turned into a ghoul, all the while remembering the atrocities they had done. It was a disgusting thought, to suddenly wake up and remember you gutting and eating people against your will.

Aoko had then continued on, that to help these people, you usually just have to kill them. There was no cure to vampirism, not unless you went after the one that turned them all together, but this is where it had gotten tricky. This was where the Dead Apostle Ancestors entered the fray.

It wasn't Aoko that explained it to him however; it was Lorelei, with clear distaste in her voice and a deep scowl as she relayed her information to him. He had the amusing thought of her actually being his teacher and him being her student.

Dead Apostles that had turned a large group of people into ghouls were usually hunted down by the Mage Association and the Church, they were there to minimize the damage and prevent the knowledge of vampires becoming public knowledge. But of course, killing the main Dead Apostle that had turned all those people into ghouls didn't really mean that the ghouls would disappear. It only meant that they would continue to feed on people, gathering their energy from their souls and blood to compensate for their lost master's energy. To possibly cure all the people that turned into ghouls, one would actually have to kill the main perpetrator that turned the Dead Apostle into what he was, and more likely than not, the one responsible to that would have been a Dead Apostle Ancestor.

Dead Apostle Ancestors, or DAA as Aoko abbreviated for him, were ancient vampires that had lived for centuries, if not millennia. There were twenty-seven that were currently recorded, but Aoko had told him that most of the DAA's were sealed by the Church and the Mage's Association, as they were a liability and more likely than not, used human's lives like there was no tomorrow, all for their research or for their boredom.

All of this both Aoko and Lorelei explained to him, and though they had told him they were dangerous, he was still rather skeptical of their power. After all, all one needed to kill someone was to stab them through the heart and through the brain right?

Well, apparently, they found his naiveté annoying, and laughable. Aoko being the former, and Lorelei the former.

Aoko had explained just how dangerous Dead Apostle Ancestor's really were, that almost all of them had been so corrupted in the sense that their commonsense wasn't something a human can possibly comprehend. Their commonsense was so distorted that they could actually reject the world around them, and replace it with their own world. The explanation wasn't lost to Shirou at all.

They were talking about Reality Marbles.

And from the way they told him about it, he could guess that actually having one made you extremely dangerous, since you needed to actually be quite of your rocker to have one. He didn't know how to feel about that.

Of course, he knew he was distorted, but he didn't know if it was _that _distorted. He didn't kill people, he merely wished to save them, and if he would die to do so, then he would be happy to at least have been able to save them.

Truth be told, he was tempted to tell them both he had a Reality Marble, but the way they talked about it, the way they warned him to run should he ever be trapped it one, and the way they had said that it was a terrifying type of magic close to True Magic made him keep his mouth shut.

He snapped out of his thoughts as he felt Aoko shuffle behind him, he turned, and found out why she was shuffling.

She had been examining his busted table clock.

Aoko stared at him with a blank expression, but before she could speak, Lorelei spoke up from beside him.

"Shirou," She called for him, and he turned towards her, raising an eyebrow as he gestured for her to continue. "I wanted to talk to you about something, can we take a walk?" She asked, her voice slightly apprehensive as she turned her gaze from him towards Aoko. He could only imagine Aoko's scowl right about now.

He shrugged his shoulders, before he placed the papers he was holding on his desk. He then gestured for Lorelei to lead the way. To which she did so with a sharp turn and began walking towards the door.

Shirou made to follow, but Aoko's voice stopped him. "Be back in two hours okay? Bring Lorelei with you as well. We still need to plan our assault on Aemulo." Aoko stated as he glanced behind him, only to notice that she had begun examining the clock that he had busted via a slip of the hand.

"Sure Aoko." He said with a shrug before he began walking towards the door, to where Lorelei had already left in.

Aoko didn't turn around, but the scowl on her face was still evident, even as she heard the door close, leaving her alone in the room, sitting on her student's desk examining the clock that she had tasked him to tinker with.

**XxX**

Shirou steadily caught up to the still walking Lorelei, matching her strides with his own as they walked in silence through the empty hallways. It would be a strange sight that someone would point out, but fortunately, all the students were still in their classes, leaving the hallways bare of life save for Shirou and Lorelei.

The silence was getting to Shirou, so he tried to break it with a simple question. "What did you want to talk about?" He asked her, but she didn't answer as she only continued walking, completely ignoring his questioning looks.

Rather put-off with her ignoring, Shirou only sighed as he continued walking on in silence, their footsteps echoing across the empty halls as they did so. If she didn't want to talk yet, that was fine, but the least she could do was acknowledge that she heard him.

Lorelei's head perked suddenly, and she began to walk slightly faster, prompting Shirou to do the same. Lorelei stopped in front of a large door, made of wood with crevices at the top and bottom part like any other typical western wooden door. Shirou raised an eyebrow at the door, and then he turned to Lorelei with a questioning look.

"Follow me," She finally said as she reached for the knob and turned it. The door opened with a creak, and the light behind it made Shirou squint his eyes. "Don't touch anything." He heard Lorelei warn him as she walked through the doorway where the light was coming from, surprisingly, it didn't dim whatsoever.

Steadily weighing the options, he decided that he had nothing much to lose, and doubted that Lorelei would just lead him to his death. So he stepped through the doorway, suffice to say, he didn't expect what he saw at all.

The room had counters everywhere, counters with jars on top of them. Jars that had a strange green liquid in them, but that wasn't what garnered his surprise; it was what was floating inside the green liquid. There, floating in the liquid like they were hollow, were multiple body parts, arms, toes, fingers, ears, noses, he even saw a phallus. It was a sickening sight, and his face turned as green as the liquid in the jars, he fought down the urge to hurl as he walked through the room, trying to catch up to Lorelei.

Taking his attention away from the obviously disgusting display, he took note of the décor of the room. With black and white tiles so much like a kitchens on the floor, with white tiles of marble decorating the walls, it gave the sickly feeling that, coupled with the jars with human body parts, gave the feeling that he was in a demented doctor's office. The kind of doctor you would see in movies that played with human lives and vivisected humans, taking pleasure in their screams of pain.

He noted that by the edge of the room, there was something covered that had an outline that looked like a dentists table, where the patient would sit and the doctor would-

His thought process was cut off as he saw the covered seat shuffle slightly. He took a ready stance, opening his palms by his sides, ready to take action if necessary.

He heard something groan from behind the cover, and he felt the gun in his head cock, ready to shoot, ready for his swords to form.

The groan, it sounded dead, almost like a ghouls. Granted, he never heard a ghoul groan, but the groan he had just heard sounded dead, and he couldn't help but narrow his eyes slightly. Was this why Lorelei took him here? So that she could show him a ghoul? The sentiment was touching, if it wasn't so demented. What was a ghoul doing here? And why did Lorelei have on in the Clock Tower in the first place? Were the body parts in the jars used to be from ghouls and Dead Apostles too? Either way, the situation was rather strange, and he couldn't help but ready himself.

Lorelei saw the movement behind the covers, and she merely shook his head, her face morphing into one of displeasure as she moved towards the covers. Shirou's eyes widened as she raised a hand to try and stop her.

Before he could even utter a word however, Lorelei had taken the cover in a grip and pulled, revealing a strange sight that made Shirou want to kick himself. Since when was he so paranoid?

There, sleeping on the dentist's chair was the doctor that he had seen when he had visited Lorelei with Geneva two days ago. What was his name again? Jacob? John? Something with a J…

"Jason." Lorelei started as she glared at the sleeping doctor with hair that changed colors each time he inhaled. The doctor merely groaned, before he turned his back and continued to sleep. Lorelei did not find the situation funny.

"Jason." Her voice was more firm this time, but still, the doctor continued to sleep, but a groan that sounded like a moan escaped his lips. Followed by words that sealed his fate.

"Lady Barthomeloi please, not in front of your grandmother." The doctor giggled perversely in his sleep. Shirou offered a silent prayer as he felt the wind pick up in the enclosed room.

"Oh? What's that? You want to let your grandmother join in too? No problem…" The doctor slurred once more.

Shirou turned around; ignoring the sound of a storm in the room, and making sure he never heard the doctor screaming for mercy.

He wasn't averse to saving him, but he got himself in this situation, he damned himself, and he would gladly watch as he crashed and burned.

Quite literally as he saw the doctor's body fly over his head and crash against the wall opposite Shirou.

**XxX**

"I apologize Lady Barthomeloi. You've caught me in a most vulnerable time." The doctor, now identified as Jason, said as he bowed in apology. It wasn't a Japanese apology mind you, but merely someone of a lower status apologizing to someone much much higher than them in the hierarchy of things.

Lorelei merely gave him a scalding glance, before she turned away from him, walking over towards Shirou. "I will accept your apology today Jason. Just see to it that this doesn't happen again." She warned with narrowed eyes, and the doctor merely straightened himself and nodded, his hair changing from dark blue, to a vibrant green.

Tilting his head in curiosity, Shirou couldn't help but stare at his hair. Noticing his gaze, the doctor couldn't help but smirk. "Accident experimenting with dye magic when I was a kid. Now it changes colors every few minutes." Jason explained as he smiled, Shirou could only nod, taking in that little tidbit of information.

"You'll discuss this on your own time Jason, right now, I need your expertise." Lorelei stated as she stared at Jason, who, to his credit, didn't flinch away from Lorelei's intense glaring.

Jason bowed once more, gentlemanly this time as he placed one arm in front of him and bent forward. His hair this time turning to a luscious blue. "Anything for my Lady." He said with a smile.

Lorelei only shook her head and turned around, taking in the sight of the jars filled with human limbs. "You've been the Clock Tower's doctor for a long time now. You've vivisected and dissected enough Designates to warrant yourself as our premier surgeon. Tell me," Lorelei's voice trailed, as Shirou's eyes dilated. What? Vivisecting and dissecting? That was disgusting to even think about. He didn't know what to feel about this, granted, Aoko had already warned him about the Clock Tower's disregard for human life, much less their constant need to desecrate corpses of people. But still, to hear it so casually discussed almost made him green in the face, whilst red hot inside. "Has the recent batch of Dead Apostle victims have sword wounds in them?" Lorelei asked, and Jason hummed as he straightened up, his hair now turning to a vibrant red.

"Hmm, now that you mention it…" Jason trailed as he turned around and went for the wall, where a sudden cabinet materialized, not at all surprised at the sight, Shirou's face remained passive.

Jason pulled out a file from the cabinet and shuffled through it, Shirou eyed him curiously, before he noticed the doctor frown. "Yeah, the recent victims they've had me work with have sword wounds around their bodies." The doctor stated as he walked over towards Lorelei and passed her the papers. "But it is strange," The doctor continued as he hummed despondently. "The wounds point to swords, but there is something strange with the wounds themselves. The entry wound comes from a blade no doubt, but the insides of the wound point towards a mace of sorts."

"What do you mean by that?" It was Shirou who asked, his eyebrow rising at that strange piece of information.

Jason lifted a hand and placed it on his chin, his hair turning to a sickly green color. "Though the initial point of contact came from a blade, the wounds themselves suggest that it wasn't from a sword that it came from. Internal bleeding, pulverized muscles and tendons, it all suggests that they've been hit with a blunt object." The doctor stated with a blank face as his hair changed colors once more. This time to a more purplish hue.

"Strangely enough though, when typical of any Dead Apostle victim, they would reanimate within minutes as ghouls. Yet they have no outward marks that indicate that they have been struck. It is a strange occurrence, and the only thing that I can make out of it is that the Apostle has somehow imbued his essence into his strange sword." The doctor continued as he removed his hand from his chin and stared at Lorelei, who was still busy sifting through the papers with a critical eye.

Lorelei opened her mouth to speak, but the door suddenly burst open, and a plethora of nurses came rushing through, they were all dragging a stretcher and restraining a man writhing in it, the man shouted obscenities all the while they were doing so.

"Doctor!" One of the nurses, this one male with a rather bland face and typical brown hair that reached just past his forehead shouted his voice frantic as he ran over towards Jason.

Jason suddenly sprang into action, his eyes turning icy cold and his body going on autopilot. "Get me a pack of holy water and clear the tables. Give me his estimated time of turning and how long he had been writhing." Jason barked as he immediately took action and made his way over towards the patient. Shirou watched in morbid fascination as he saw Jason's demeanor change and turn into one of authority. He watched as one of the nurses, this one female, passed him a scalpel. He watched in fascination as Jason raised the scalpel.

He winced as Jason brought the scalpel down on the writhing man's face. The man soon stopped moving soon after.

"Wha-?" Shirou couldn't form words as he watched just what had happened. Weren't doctors supposed to help their patients? Righteous indignation bubbled in Shirou, and before long, he was marching forward, towards Jason with a look of murder in his eyes.

A hand on his shoulder stopped him.

He turned around, and he was met with the cold eyes of Lorelei Barthomeloi, who was regarding him with a speculative, if not indignant, look. "Don't." She had said, and soon, Shirou found all strength leave him. He sighed as he stepped back into line, not liking her order one bit.

"There is no cure for vampirism. The most one can hope to do is to just kill the victim outright, to spare them from their eternal suffering." Lorelei stated as her eyes softened, as if she understood Shirou's anger. Shirou could only stare at Lorelei, he looked up at her and into her brown eyes, not really liking it, but understanding it enough to respect it.

Shirou snapped out of his stare however as he heard a sizzling noise erupt from behind him. He turned, and to his surprise, it was to find Jason spraying something in a bottle on the dead man.

"You should probably leave," The male nurse's voice suddenly sounded from behind Lorelei and Shirou, garnering the latter's attention whilst the former just ignored him completely, Lorelei instead raised the papers she was given and sifted through them once more. "The doctor will want peace and quiet as he works on this one. It is a rather fresh one after all." The nurse explained as he made to usher both Shirou and Lorelei out.

Lorelei did not like it one bit, as she just glared at the nurse and proceeded towards the door. Shirou meanwhile couldn't help but stare at the dead man on the stretcher as he was moved from it and towards the previous chair where the doctor had been sleeping in.

He couldn't help but stare as he saw that a sword was still embedded on the man's chest, and he couldn't help but trace it subconsciously.

What he Traced made his eyes widen as the nurse finally got him out of the door and closed it.

"The hell?" Was all he could mutter as the door closed in his face.

**XxX**

**Am I evil? Or was that just annoying? Whatever. If it means I get to keep you all on your seats, then I'd gladly do it.**

**I missed my deadline for this. Truth be told, I had this chapter done three days ago (Though I'm still to lazy to actually read through it and correct my mistakes. Sue me.). But my internet has been down for the better part of the week and only now, when my cousin brought her pocket wifi with her, that I am able to actually post this chapter.**

**Anyway. I'll say this again. I have not proofread this. Well, I have skimmed through it, but that isn't proofreading. So forgive any spelling mistakes and grammar mistakes.**

**Remember people, I will answer the first five pm's fully. So pm away. And I'll also do a bonus. The first three reviews, get their questions answered as well.**

**Hopefully doesn't mess up the servers again and I can read all your reviews on time. And hopefully, I managed to give you guys a glimpse of Aemulo and his skills. And let me tell you guys, there is much more to him than meets the eye. Much much more.**

**Anyway. Please leave a review if you liked it. Criticism is accepted as well, but hopefully it is constructive. Don't point out my spelling and grammar however. I know they need work. Also, as to clear up some confusion. When Shirou fought Lorelei, he had been in this timeline for two days, give or take a few hours. I believe my pacing is just right, as leaving it too drawn out will just outright bore everyone.**

**C.O.Y.L out, peace!**


	10. The Sum of all Parts

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

**Little note here. I'll focus on my other fic Rise Before Dusk after this chapter. Hey, people are complaining, and I guess I should answer their complaints. Don't worry, this won't be going on hiatus. But expect the following updates to be sporadic.**

**And let's all give a warm welcome to Gruffy, who finally made an account for this lovely place on the net. Cheers Gruffy, I expect to read some stories coming from you soon.**

**XxX**

"Are you listening?" Lorelei snapped at Shirou, who in turn wasn't exactly paying attention to what she was saying at all.

"Huh?" Shirou snapped out of his reverie and glanced over towards Lorelei, the two were currently sitting in the cafeteria, both facing each other from across the small table.

After they had been forced to move after the little show with the doctor, Lorelei had suggested that they get a bite to eat, seeing that it was nearing lunch time, and that she hadn't eaten breakfast yet.

Now, if Shirou were in his right state of mind, he would admonish Lorelei for not eating her breakfast, he would go off on a tangent that eating breakfast equaled to having a strong mind and body, further more, he would continue on to tell her that having skipping breakfast and just having a heavy lunch is something frowned upon and would result in a loss of energy after midday.

And after that, he would ask her why she decided to skip breakfast, and then he would be treated to the haughty personality of Lorelei as she would avert the question by saying that she didn't have to answer him, as it was none of his business. But in truth, she had skipped breakfast because she was not sure how to eat breakfast here at the Clock Tower at all. She had been catered for her entire life, she had come to expect servants to wake her up, to dress her, and to serve her breakfast, and after that, she would be subjected to the training regimen that all Barthomeloi's would be treated to.

If he had pushed Lorelei, he would find out that it Lorelei knew to wake up by herself, as she had a body clock that woke her up everyday, but what she didn't expect that she would have no food, and that she had absolutely no idea how to get food without her servants.

If Shirou were in the right state of mind, he would find out that Lorelei was extremely sheltered.

Too bad however, Shirou was not in his right state of mind.

"You aren't paying attention." Lorelei snapped at Shirou, who only stared at her with a dumbfounded face. She had lost him again, and it irritated her greatly that she had lost to someone so wishy-washy.

She reached over the table and promptly gave Shirou a good slap on the face, the sound of skin striking skin resounded across the rather empty cafeteria, some heads turned, and some whispered as they pointed behind their backs. But Lorelei did not mind, he had deserved that slap.

"Wha-?!" Shirou snapped out of his thoughts as he registered the stinging pain on his cheek. "What was that for?!" He snapped at her, his eyes narrowed and his eyebrows furrowed as he glared at Lorelei.

"You weren't paying attention. If this was a fight, replace my slap with a sword and you would have half a head." Lorelei stated curtly as if it was obvious, Shirou meanwhile, sputtered as he stared at her.

"What? I don't expect that my friend that I trust would suddenly slap me! Let alone draw a sword!" Shirou's voice was loud, but Lorelei didn't mind, she only continued to cut her sandwich and stab it with her fork, before placing the piece into her mouth. Chewing silently with her eyes closed. Shirou could only glare at her.

Finally finishing her chewing, Lorelei swallowed and wiped her mouth with a napkin. She opened both her eyes, and stared at Shirou, her brown eyes meeting Shirou's golden ones. "As I was saying," She began, and Shirou could only sigh. She wasn't going to get reprimanded for this one. Lorelei slid over to him the file that she had taken from the doctor's office. "You should read this before we actually go after him." She stated with a curt tone.

Shirou picked up the manila folder and opened it, inside, was a veritable wall of letters. He flipped through the pages, and each page had more and more words written on it, Shirou could only sigh as he fixed the pages and closed the folder, before he slid it back towards Lorelei, who raised an eyebrow at him.

"What's wrong?" She asked, and Shirou could only smile slightly at her.

"Done." Was all he said, surprising Lorelei at his impossible quickness.

"Impossible." She stated calmly as she grabbed the folder once more and opened it, once more glancing over the contents with a critical eye.

"Not for me." Shirou stated in a matter-of-factly tone. Which irked Lorelei more than it should.

"Right, I forgot. My grandmother told me about your particular mastery in Structural Grasping." Lorelei stated, sighing as she placed the folder back on the table and picked up her utensils once more, cutting away at her meager sandwich.

"It isn't really that hard though, if you want, I can teach you how to Trace if you want." Shirou offered with a blank face, but Lorelei merely put down her knife and raised her left hand in a stop signal.

"You do realize how outrageous that sentence was now do you?" Lorelei asked as she regarded him with a critical eye. Her eyebrow nearly twitched as she saw Shirou tilt his head in confusion.

"What do you mean?" He asked, and this time, Lorelei couldn't repress the twitch.

She took a deep breath to recover her face, before she looked up once more, staring into Shirou's eyes. "A Magus doesn't normally offer to teach others how their Mysteries work." Lorelei stated as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Shirou merely shrugged. "I don't consider myself a Magus. I'm more like a Magic-user." He stated.

Lorelei frowned slightly as she stared at him, unsure of how to perceive his statement, finally sighing, she decided to just go ahead and tell him what she thought. "There is no difference between a Magus and a Magic-user, both walk hand in hand with death." She stared at Shirou, who again, shrugged as he let out a deep breath.

"I know that, but I'm no Magus. I can barely do anything that can be considered 'easy' for a third-rate Magus," Shirou sighed as he closed his eyes. "All I can do is Trace, Project, and Reinforce. There is nothing 'mystical' about those things."

Lorelei shook her head. "Yet," She began, making Shirou crack one eye open to stare at her. "You've advanced so far into your branch of mysteries that you've made a new kind of Magic. It is an amazing sort of mystery as well, with it, you could possibly fight on equal ground with the most powerful weapon users this world has ever known." Lorelei stated without a shred of doubt in her voice.

Shirou smiled at her as he opened both eyes. "Thanks, but I'm still no Magus." Shirou took her unspoken compliment, was still unconvinced that he was a fully fledged Magus.

Lorelei frowned again as she took back her knife and began to cut her sandwich once more. "I do have a question however," She began, and Shirou stared at her with curiosity.

"Shoot." He said as he crossed his arms and waited for her question. Stabbing another piece of her sandwich, Lorelei brought it to her lips and ate it, chewing slowly. Finally, after she swallowed and wiped her mouth with her napkin, she once more stared at Shirou, her eyes holding a hint of curiosity in it, much deeper than her previous ones.

"What's your Element?" She asked.

Shirou tilted his head in confusion.

Lorelei could only sigh as she began to cut her sandwich once more. Maybe there really was a distinction between a Magus and a Magic-user after all.

"You don't know what your element is, do you?" She asked, though the answer should be obvious by now.

Shirou laughed sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his head. "Uhh, no?" He said lamely, and Lorelei shook her head and sighed. She stabbed the last piece of her sandwich and popped it into her mouth, chewing slowly as she had her eyes closed, carefully reigning in her annoyance so that it would not show in public.

Finally swallowing the sandwich, she wiped her mouth for the last time before she opened her eyes and stared at Shirou, who flinched as her gaze pierced him.

If one were an outsider, it would look like a teacher was scolding their student for not doing their homework, and they might as well be right.

Except it wasn't the case, Shirou was the teacher, and Lorelei was the student. If the outsider were to learn about this fact, they would probably snicker, and tell Shirou that he was whipped.

Which is also true.

"We'll talk about elements later, Aoko is your teacher, not me, she'd be better off explaining it to you." Lorelei stated as she crossed her legs underneath the table, which Shirou caught as he saw her position shift. "But right now, I'm more curious as to why you've been spacing out. Though it's more emphasized after we left Jason to his devices, that wasn't the first time you've done it. What's on your mind?" Lorelei asked, showing a maturity that was beyond her years. Shirou wondered if this had been part of her childhood, to have grown up this quickly, it was a haunting thought, had she not had a childhood?

Once more, he found himself slapped across the cheek.

"Again you space out." Lorelei scolded as she glared at him, un-amused with this repeating cycle. Shirou brought his right hand up to his cheek and rubbed it once more, it was getting annoying, but he can't say he doesn't deserve it. But then again, Lorelei wasn't exactly the most patient person.

"Stop hitting me." He said firmly as he stared into Lorelei's eyes unflinchingly. They remained that way, both staring into the others eyes, neither one wanting to show weakness by looking away first. But in the end, it was Lorelei who consented as she closed her eyes and sighed. Shirou smiled at her.

"Thanks." He said with a smile, before his face morphed into one of seriousness. "But to answer your question, while it is true that I've been spacing out. When we left the doctor's office my thoughts aren't the same as my previous ones before I met the doctor." He stated, which garnered a raised eyebrow from Lorelei. She signaled for him to continue, which he did with gusto.

"When we were being escorted out of the room, I caught a glimpse of the latest victim of Aemulo-" He was cut off as Lorelei raised a hand to stop him from continuing.

"How do you know it was a victim of Aemulo? For all we know, it could have been a victim of another Dead Apostle." Lorelei stated as she narrowed her eyes, waiting to see if Shirou would falter in the slightest.

He didn't.

"I know because he had a sword imbedded into his chest, you know my Magic right?" It was a rhetorical question; they had just been discussing his particular magic a few minutes ago after all. Nonetheless, Lorelei nodded to confirm that she had heard the question and that she knew about his Magic.

"Well, I Traced it." Shirou frowned as he got a faraway look on his face, a look that wasn't missed by Lorelei as it was the same face he would get when he would space out.

She snapped her fingers multiple times in front of Shirou's face, garnering his attention. "Focus Shirou. What about the sword makes you space out?"

"That's the thing," Shirou began, his voice strained as his gaze turned towards the table under him, his frown deepening as he stared at the plain white table. "I'm not even sure if it's what everyone calls a sword."

**Fate: Zero/Night**

**XxX**

"Master." A detached voice sounded, eyes glazed as she bent over and kneeled, an obvious sign of respect for the person she was addressing.

She registered that she was stabbed through the shoulder, but she did not wince, not even when she felt her bones begin to grind and muscles begin to bruise the longer the sword was inside her shoulder.

"What is it? You know better than to interrupt me as I conduct my research." The man's grotesque face shifted as he pulled out the sword, not at all caring that he had stabbed his subordinate through the shoulder. Possibly destroying several tendons and cracking the bone deep inside.

"I apologize, but the Church has taken action against us." The woman stated; the wound already closing as her vampiric powers came into play, healing her and removing the wound almost as quickly as it was there in the first place.

Aemulo hummed in response as he merely observed the sword that was in his hand, his face, though misshapen, didn't hold any kind of anxiety to it.

Seemingly satisfied with his handiwork, he threw the sword over his shoulder, the sword colliding with the wall opposite the two, eliciting a clang of metal hitting stonewall. "I'm surprised they have allowed me so much reign for so long."

The woman didn't answer, as she did not deign herself worthy to speak as of yet, and Aemulo seemed rather surprised by her curtness.

"Is there something else you wish to tell me?" Aemulo asked, his melting face morphing slightly as he did so. The woman didn't raise her head, and her body did not move. But her voice was frantic.

"Please Master! Allow me to take action!" She pleaded, and although her body didn't give any indication that she was in distress, her voice was franctic and almost pleading. Aemulo only regarded her with a calculating stare.

She didn't have a name, whatever name she had had was lost in time, she was centuries old, and she had been serving Aemulo for so long that she didn't know anything else. She couldn't even remember the day she was turned, much less her actual age. To her, Aemulo was everything, he was her reason to continue moving, to continue breathing, and to continue living this unholy life.

But to Aemulo, she was merely a nameless servant he had turned on a whim. She was expendable, much like the other aides in his castle.

"Very well, you may take seven others with you. Feel free to take any sword from the Forest as well. Make sure there are no survivors, it's about time I actually show the fruits of my labors anyway." Aemulo said, his eyes cold and his voice even more so. But to the woman kneeling, it was the warmest words she had ever heard from him.

"Thank you master. I will not let you down!" She nearly shouted as she stood and walked out of the room in an almost childlike manner.

Aemulo could only smile, let it be known that he listened to his servants wishes.

But as the door closed, Aemulo's smile turned into a frown as he turned back to his desk. He raised his right hand so that it floated over the simple wooden desk in front of him.

"Coalesce: Power." He muttered under his breath. A gust of wind erupted from his body before they started circling his enclosed palm. Aemulo grit his teeth as he felt his circuits burn as od flowed through them and into his right hand.

"Coalesce: Agility." The wind picked up once more, he could feel his body straining now, and his melted face began running. The wind began taking shape, long, sharp, and simple.

"Coalesce: Magic." His running face was dripping on the floor now, but that did not deter him in the slightest. He could feel his mind go on overdrive as multiple images flowed through his mind. He squashed all of those thoughts down and focused only on one thing. The image in his head was powerful, it was amazing, and it was filled with magic, literally overflowing with Prana.

He focused on the image before taking a deep breath. The wind in his hands began to solidify, but this was not done. The next step was the hardest, and it would make or break what he was making.

"Create!" He shouted as he screamed in agony, his circuits flaring as od flowed through them like gushing magma. He screamed in pain, but he did not lose his focus on the wind in his hands. He felt it solidifying, taking on a corporeal form. He could feel material in his hand, and he could feel the winds dying down.

Finally, the winds died, and he let out a sigh of relief, his melting face stopped liquefying, and he could feel his circuits returning to normal. He opened his eyes, and he couldn't help but stare at the object that was now in his right hand.

He gripped it tighter as he moved it closer to his face, carefully scrutinizing it for any deformity, any kind of indent, and any kind of mistake.

Seeing none, he smiled, his body shaking as he did so. Small fits of laughter erupted from him, and before long, he was laughing out loud, almost as if he had gone crazy.

"Finally! I've done it!" He shouted in glee as he gripped the simple sword's handle and slashed down on the wooden desk.

The desk split in two, but that wasn't anything weird, what was strange was that not only was the desk split in two, but also the floor as well as the stone wall. Even the ceiling wasn't spared as it too had a deep gash seemingly coming from the swords tip. The room buckled, and soon, it leaned to the left, almost threatening to fall off the cliff and detaching itself from the castle that it was connected to.

Aemulo could only cackle in glee. He had done it! He had reproduced the First True Magic!

**XxX**

"What do you mean it's not a sword?" Aoko asked, her eyebrows were furrowed as she stared up at Shirou from her seated position on the teacher's table.

Shirou only shook his head before he scratched his neck. "I didn't say it wasn't a sword. It's more like it's not something you can call a sword." He stated as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Aoko only stared at him blankly, clearly his explanation didn't help her in the slightest.

Shirou sighed before he spoke up once more. "You see, it has the body of a sword, it has the materials of a sword, and it has the feel of a sword, heck, it even weighs like a sword," Emphasizing his points by cocking the metaphorical gun in his head and firing it, he Projected the 'sword' into the real world by holding out his right hand and showing it to Aoko. "But it has the memories of a mace." He stated as he slashed down on the teachers table. It cut the edge of the table, but instead of cutting cleanly through it, the sword seemed to pulverize the cut slightly as sawdust flew from the cut and into the air and into Aoko's face.

Coughing as she waved her hand in front of her face, Aoko glared at Shirou, but soon stopped and glared at the other occupant in the room as she began laughing regally.

"Something funny Miss Perfect?" Aoko asked with narrowed eyes as she glared at Lorelei, who was sitting prettily by the desk that was still in the room.

"No, no. Nothing at all." She denied with a smiling face, Aoko narrowed her eyes before she returned her attention towards Shirou, who scratched the back of his head sheepishly.

"Sorry about that Aoko." He said as he smiled at her, Aoko only rolled her eyes as she opened her hand and signaled for Shirou to give her the 'sword'. Shirou promptly did so as he handed her the simple European sword.

Aoko carefully inspected it as she felt the weight and the handle, taking a few practice swings in her seat as well. Seemingly satisfied with her observation, she faced Shirou once more, before she asked a question that really didn't make sense.

"How does it act like a mace?" She asked, and Shirou once again scratched the back of his head.

"That's the thing, I don't know." He said with a grim face as he re-Traced the same sword into his hand, making two, one in Aoko's hands, and one in Shirou's. Aoko seemed confused with his statement, before he sighed as he explained. "It's a scary thought. I can't comprehend this weapon, at least, not fully. It's like…" He trailed as he thought of the right words to say. "It's like it's made up of a lot of different things." He said.

"You mean that it isn't a whole sword?" Aoko asked, trying to clarify his explanation. Shirou shook his head as his frown deepened.

"That isn't it. It is a whole sword, there's no doubt about that. But at the same time, it feels like it was made with different swords that were meshed together, and was given the memories – the objective – of a mace." He explained. Aoko scowled at his strange explanation.

"It's like, ugh, sorry, I'm not really literate with words." Shirou stated as he pondered on the explanation he wanted to say. Fortunately, Lorelei interrupted his train of thought by explaining it for him.

"It seems Shirou's trying to say that the sword itself was made out of swords that were complete, and were meshed together to form one sword with a mace's objective," She paused, before she smiled and nodded her head. "its memories, the sword has the shape of one sword, has the weight of another, the handle of another, and the memories of a mace." She explained without missing a beat.

"Thanks Lorelei." Shirou said with a smile as he rubbed his forehead. Even with all those times he spent with Rin, he still couldn't grasp how to talk like her, less of all Archer.

He glanced to his right, where Lorelei had walked up to his side, and found an image of Rin flash in his mind. Of Rin educating him and explaining things that were once beyond his comprehension.

Noticing his stare, Lorelei narrowed her eyes and glared at him, prompting him to look away, flushed at getting caught staring, and more than scared of risking her ire once more.

Aoko noticed this, and narrowed her eyes, but didn't point it out. Only turning back to the sword that was in her hands and carefully scrutinizing it once more.

"So what you're saying is that this sword, is a bastard sword?" She said with a slight chuckle. She wasn't the only one to get the joke, as Shirou himself had heard it and laughed as well.

"I guess you could call it that." He said through breaths. And as Aoko and Shirou were laughing, Lorelei simply scowled before crossing her arms over her chest, clearly displeased with their jolliness.

"I hardly think this is a laughing matter." She stated with a cold voice, killing the light mood instantly, Shirou stopped laughing and scratched the back of his head nervously, while Aoko scowled at her before she puffed her cheeks and looked away.

"You could learn a thing or two from your teacher you know." Aoko said in a low voice, but nonetheless, Lorelei heard it and her scowl deepened.

"What do you mean by that?" She asked with narrowed eyes, eyes that glared at Aoko. Who wasn't affected in the least by it, judging from the smirk that she was wearing.

"It means you need to lighten up, the problem won't go away immediately, so the least we can do is actually laugh at it." Aoko stated as she half smirked at Lorelei. This only served to irk Lorelei even further as her scowl turned into a full blown frown.

"I hardly think this is a laughing matter Aoko." Lorelei's voice was cold as she narrowed her eyes at Aoko, whose half smirk turned into a frown as well at hearing Lorelei's cold voice. "We have a weapon someone like Shirou, who has mastered Structural Grasping to the point of actually memorizing a weapon's memories, can't fully comprehend."

Aoko frowned, before she took a deep sigh and shook her head. She then turned towards Shirou, who had merely watched the entire exchange in silence, before she asked him an important question. "You said that you can't fully comprehend it right?" Aoko asked, and Shirou, who had snapped out of his silent reverie, merely nodded his head dumbly at Aoko. Aoko smiled before she placed the sword that she was holding, an exact replica of the sword Shirou himself was holding, on the table. "What part of it can't you comprehend?" She asked with a smirk, which Lorelei caught, before her eyes widened in clarity.

Lorelei smirked as she shook her head in mild admiration. How could she have missed that.

"The entire sword itse-!" Shirou stopped talking as he too got what Aoko was implying. And he couldn't help but smirk himself as he stared at Aoko.

"If you can't understand something when it's whole," Aoko began as she stood up and reached for the sword that was on the table. She gripped its handle tightly, before she felt her od begin to invade the sword, overcharging it with Prana. She could feel it strain and contort, and before long, it shattered into a thousand pieces and evaporated into small fragments of prana. "Than take it apart and understand all its parts first." She said with a smirk.

**XxX**

**Hmm, short chapter. But I feel that it's good enough.**

**The next chapter will definitely be longer, but right now, I'm setting up the setting as it is. The trio won't be going after Aemulo just yet, at least, not in the same month. They still need to prepare, and prepare they shall. But Aemulo himself isn't static, his actions will affect the group as well as their plans. Case in point, him having his servants deal with the Church that is coming for him. I won't say anymore about that, but let me tell you right now, it won't be pretty.**

**Oh, and since this is the first magic we're dealing with. More elements of the Nasuverse will also come into play. I'll give you guys a gimme. The Mage's association consists of three groups. One happens to have alchemists. Alchemists that could definitely use the first magic of creation.**

**Anyway, I won't say anything more, as this is just some more buildup for the coming arc. But don't worry, I have the time mapped out, and it won't go too long. And if you're worried about timeskips, don't. I'll try to justify the weeks that they've had as they all prepare.**

**And let's get to 200 reviews! Come on, I only need like, 22! We can do it guys! Please? Okay, I won't beg anymore, but damn it! It would be awesome to get to 200 reviews in just ten chapters. That's 20 reviews per chapter!**

**Anyway, yeah, that's about it. The questions are closed, and the pm's are closed as well. I've answered some people's questions, and hopefully, they stick around since most of their questions consist of major spoilers.**

**This fic is only going to get bigger and bigger as more elements of the Nasuverse come into play, but don't worry. I won't let it bloat to the size of new york.**

**C..O.Y.L out, peace!**


	11. Tracing the Untraceable

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

**Okay, maybe this isn't the best idea, but I'm writing this chapter and a chapter for Rise before Dusk at the same time. Hopefully, you won't see Takashi here, or Shirou in the other. I'm kidding, I'm not THAT stupid.**

**And damn it. I've been watching too much anime. And school is just starting for me. It'll be hard to actually walk, since my leg is still in a cast, but I can manage. I think.**

**And also, to clear up some of your major questions. When I said black hole back in the prologue, I meant black hole. If light can't escape from a black hole, and can suck up a sun in just a matter of five seconds, what makes you guys think that Gilgamesh's open Gate of Babylon would fare any better? And come on guys, of course Shirou won't be copying 'everything' in the Gate. He caught a glimpse of everything, but he can only copy and Trace the ones that remotely have the form of a 'Sword' or 'Blade' to them.**

**And also. Touko does **_**not**_** have the mystic eyes of death perception. She has another set of mystic eyes. Come on, I just said that her eyes turned an ungodly silver. That does not mean it's the eyes that can see death, okay? As for what mystic eyes she has, you can wiki it yourselves, as I intend to keep this information to myself as of right now as it will play a big role later on in the story.**

**And to the one that asked if a certain purple haired alchemist might get to see some action. Maybe. Remember, this Fic is set twelve years before the Fifth Grail War, and two years before the fourth. I might incorporate her, but as of right now, she still has no role in this story aside from the fact that she's part of Atlas.**

**XxX**

"Focus Shirou," Aoko said as she grasped Shirou's arm firmly. She could feel his arm straining as he focused his prana into his arms. The air itself was vibrating as well as Shirou's unearthly magic fought against the common sense of the world.

The air grew hotter as energy flowed from Shirou's hand, a faint glow of white as od flowed forth from his body and into the air. The world began to fight back the foreign substance, it wasn't natural after all, it began turning the erupting od into mana, but Shirou fought back, making his od flow even faster.

The air hummed as it vibrated, and, Shirou found that he the vibrating was deafening, he couldn't hear anything other than the humming, that was low for anyone else, but to him, it was the loudest sound he had ever heard. He felt his arm twitch, he felt his circuits burn, and he felt his mind begin to deteriorate.

But he wouldn't stop, he kept the image in his head, the memory of a sword that was so bastardized, that was combined with another. He kept the form, he kept the shape, he kept the meaning.

But it simply did not exist.

Suddenly, the air erupted in heat, surprising not only him, but also his teacher as she was right next to him. He could feel his circuits flare as the mana began receding back into him, he could feel it forcing his od down, he could feel it invading his body.

"Not good!" He passively heard Aoko shout as she saw the mana revert back into his body. He could feel the mana prickle his skin, his nerves began to burn, he could feel his body breaking down. "It's feedback! Shirou! Switch off!" He heard her, but he was in too much pain to do anything at this time.

He shouted in pain and agony as the glowing air began to enter his body through the pores in his arms, he could see his circuits flare as their vein like appearance glowed white hot. He tried to force the thought of the sword back into his mind, to make it into a reality.

The sword was ninety centimeters long, it had a 25 centimeter handle, its width was 30 centimeters, and its blade was made of steel, its handle made of ivory surrounded by leather.

As his od pushed back against the mana, the air began to glow again, and a white outline appeared in his hands, it began to steadily take form.

He heard Aoko say something, but he didn't pay attention, instead, focusing on Tracing the sword that was in his mind. The body was there, now for the memories, its purpose for existing.

It was to be part of another sword, to make that particular sword perfect. The handle would be used, and its blade would never see the light of day.

The sword began materializing, and it looked like he was about to project it fully.

But again, the common sense of the sword escaped him and the world around him.

The world fought back, and this time, it fought hard. It pushed the uncommon sword back into energy, and the od that Shirou was emitting returned into his body as mana.

This was unlike the previous feedback however, as this was more thorough and even faster than the previous one.

"Gahh!" Shirou shouted in pain as his circuits flared and his body numbed. His mind couldn't take it, and it automatically shut off his circuits as a defense mechanism.

The air stilled, the room returned to its regular temperature, and the mana that was encroaching upon the room returned to its dormant state.

Shirou keeled over in pain as he gripped his arm, that had gone terribly wrong, and what was worse, it was the third time that had happened.

"Are you alright Shirou?" He turned his head, only to be met with the soft gaze of Aoko. His brown haired and red-eyed teacher gave him a scrutinizing glance, before he chuckled hoarsely.

"As fine as the first two times." He muttered with a small smile, a smile that Aoko didn't reciprocate.

"We'll try this again next time," She said with finality, and that dampened his smile a bit, an action that Aoko caught. "I'm not saying we should give up, but it's obvious that whatever the swords you're Tracing aren't something we can understand in just a few attempts." Aoko stated with a clear-cut voice, making Shirou sigh.

"I guess you're right about that," He began as he let out a deep breath. "Whatever these swords are, there's something wrong with them. I mean, I can visualize them, I know what they look like, what they feel like, and I definitely know they're swords." He explained as he gazed down onto his open palm. "But at the same time, it's like there's something wrong with these swords, like they don't exists."

Aoko raised an eyebrow at his explanation. "Of course they don't exist, you're only projecting something that already exists. Whatever you Trace, whatever you Project, it won't be as stable as the original as the world will just find a way to deny this." Aoko said, and Shirou only shook his head.

"That's not what I meant." He said as he closed his open palm and inclined his head over towards Aoko. "It's like, the memories of how this sword was made, how it was used, and what it was used for, they aren't clear. I mean, there are memories that I can fill in, but the history is foggy, like there's a mist over it that covers the important parts that hold the sword together." He tried to explain, and Aoko only raised her eyebrow further.

Aoko took one more look over towards him, and she sighed. "Well, there's no point thinking about this now. Your circuits won't be able to last much longer if we continue anyway." Aoko consented, and Shirou found it hard to refute her statement, as his body literally felt like it was being dragged through an open fire.

Good thing he had an amazing pain tolerance.

"I cannot really refute that…" His voice trailed as he laughed nervously, he tensed however, as he caught a glimpse of the wall clocks right behind Aoko's form. It read 9:34pm.

"Oh geez, it's that late already?" He asked to no one in particular. Aoko caught his question however and she smiled and nodded her head in his direction.

"Yup," She said rather cheekily. "Before you do anything else though, you should have dinner." Aoko said in a warning tone.

"I know, I know, there's no need to tell me that." Shirou muttered sourly under his breath as he began to stretch, the burning sensation in his body already disappearing as he craned his neck and stretched his arms. Hearing the familiar pops, he could do nothing but smile as he began to clean up the area he had been experimenting it.

And if he was asked what it looked like, it would look like a seven year old's room.

It was messy, with stacks of books occupying the outlaying areas of a white circle drawn in chalk on the wooden ground. The circle itself wasn't anything spectacular, it was merely a circle with some strange scribbles that he couldn't fully understand written on its edges. He hadn't been the one to draw the thing, it was Aoko, and when he had asked what it was for, she had replied that it was only there to act as a countermeasure to the world, or Gaia, as once he started to actually break the laws of nature, Gaia would be there to actually beat the laws of nature back into him.

At the time of the explanation, he really didn't get how literal she had been.

His aching arms and burning body told him to take everything about Gaia seriously, lest he really suffer something as horrible as getting the laws of nature beaten into him. He repressed a shudder as he imagined gravity caving his entire body in because he had experimented with weightless swords.

He wiped the last bits of the white circle with his right foot, scrubbing away the dust as he took one more glance down, satisfied that there was no more trace of the circle at all. He felt his stomach grumble, almost protesting the fact that he had skipped lunch and dinner.

He couldn't help it, normally he wouldn't do that, but the fact that he needed to actually work on these swords, and he couldn't really stop for a break. He had tried, and he had failed, and all he got was an upset stomach as it groaned.

He turned around and began making his way over towards the door, before a thought suddenly popped into his mind. He smacked himself and turned around, glancing at Aoko who had her back turned and packing up the books on the floor.

"Hey Aoko." He called out as he began to walk back towards her, Aoko turned around rather quickly, her eyes wider than usual as she stared at Shirou with what he could only describe as surprised eyes.

At least, that was what he thought.

"I just realized you had been at this the entire time as me. Wanna grab a bite to eat with me?" He offered with a smile. To which Aoko returned with a beaming one.

"Sure Shirou, let me just take care of these books then we can get to the cafeteria." She said as she turned around and began to hastily pack up the books.

Shirou thought back on the entire day he had sat inside that circle, and how Aoko was in there with him, encouraging him to keep going, and telling him to take a break now and then. It wasn't much, but it felt nice to have someone actually keep watch over you and make sure you wouldn't spontaneously combust.

"Let's not eat at the cafeteria right now," He began as Aoko finally finished clearing up the table and turned around to meet him. She raised an eyebrow in question and Shirou only shook his head dismissively. "More than likely the only things that they have are the leftovers, I'm sure we can find a good place to eat in London, it's not that late anyway." He explained as he began walked towards the door with Aoko right beside him.

Aoko had a thoughtful look as she walked beside him, and as they reached the door, she nodded her head. "Yeah okay then, let's go out to eat." She said with a smile as she reached for the door. Only to have the door swing open right in front of her face, she almost jumped in alarm, but managed to rein it in as she glared at the perpetrator that had almost slammed the door into her face.

Shirou was in a similar state as he had jumped back slightly, he glanced up, and he could only tilt his head in confusion as he stared at the impassive face of Lorelei Barthomeloi right on the other side of the doorway.

"What is it Lorelei?" He asked as he straightened himself. Her unexpected appearance and her abrupt opening of the door had surprised him, but at least he didn't pull a sword out of existence as a countermeasure, he didn't know if his circuits could actually handle pulling out a sword right now, Noble Phantasm or not.

Lorelei regarded him with a stoic look, before she opened her mouth to speak, but was abruptly interrupted by Aoko. "Can this wait? We were about to leave and eat dinner." She emphasized the word 'were' as she glared openly at Lorelei.

"Dinner? Than let me join you. This can't wait right now, and it's not exactly that groundbreaking. We can discuss it through dinner." She invited herself as she turned around and began to walk away from both Shirou and Aoko, the former slightly surprised at the abrupt turn of events, while the latter was flummoxed.

They must have stood there for a good while, as Lorelei had stopped walked and had turned around, she was noticeably far into the corridor now as she tapped her foot rather impatiently, clearing waiting for both of them to get going.

Shirou shrugged his shoulders as he walked out into the hall to catch up to Lorelei. But he turned around as he didn't hear Aoko coming with him. "You okay Aoko?" He asked, his voice slightly nervous as he stared at the brown haired red-eyed girl with a concerned expression.

Aoko took a deep breath, before she shook her head and sighed deeply. "It's nothing. Let's get going." She said as she too took a step into the hall and closed the door behind her. Slightly irritated that a peaceful night with just her student had been interrupted.

**Fate: Zero/Night**

**XxX**

"Master. It is done." She had done it, she had quelled the uprising hunt, and she had done her master proud. Although they had lost three other servants to the Executors, it was a meager number compared to the thirty that they had slaughtered.

Of course, they had managed to win due to her master's extensive armory, and although the swords they carried were mere castoffs, they had done the job marvelously.

Arms cut off, heads chopped in half, bodies minces, bones powdered, legs mashed to the point of liquefying. She could still practically hear the screams of terror and pain on the band of Executor's faces.

Truly, her master was a genius.

"Oh? That was quicker than I anticipated, well done." He complimented her with a smile, his deformed face morphing as he smiled down at her. She could feel herself beem at his praise, and she couldn't help but return her master's smile with her own.

"Thank you master." She said, and although she was facing the ground, she knew that her master could see the smile she had plastered on her face right then and there.

"I'm quite surprised actually," Her master began once more. "I had thought the Church would send a sizable force of experienced Executors. Tell me, how many were there?" Her master asked.

She answered almost immediately. "A force of over thirty Executors had arrived just on the edges of the forest, we managed to kill thirty while suffering three losses. A number of Executors managed to escape our grasp however, I expect them to stir about at the edges of the forest, but I do not suspect they will try anything so soon after losing thirty." She reported with a clear cut voice, her master seemed pleased with the report.

"That is amusing at least," He began, but she could hear him sigh. "It is a shame however that some managed to escape. I suspect that they had only been there just in case something went awry so they could escape and report to their supervisors." He explained before he placed a hand on her shoulder, surprising her greatly. "But I do commend you and your force for driving them off, for that you have earned your name back." He said, her eyes widened slightly, but she did not show her excitement, merely waiting for her master to speak once more.

"From this day forth, you will be my personal bodyguard. You will protect me with your life, and you may give me your opinion on things that I ask you." His voice was clear cut, and she couldn't help but smile wider. "Now rise Lilly. You may walk beside me from this day forth."

She did so without much fuss, she leveled her eye at him, and she couldn't help but smile at her master. "Thank you master." She bowed her head, her long straight black hair falling slightly forward.

Aemulo smirked as he regarded her with a slight nod. "Lilly, fetch me another servant, they will be my aide from now on. You are above such menial tasks." He ordered her, and she nodded without a second thought.

"At once." She finished as she spun on her heel and made for the door. Her long hair swaying behind her.

Aemulo watched with a smile at his newest appointed bodyguard. This one was different, he thought to himself as he watched her exit the room through the door, he watched the door close with a creak, and he turned around once more and sat down by his desk.

His smile widened as he stared at the sword that he had created that lay there on the wooden desk. It was the pinnacle of his research, after all those years of trial and error, he had finally done it.

He had created something from nothing.

He chuckled as he gripped the sword by its hilt, the sword wasn't much to look at. But he didn't care. What mattered were its functions, the look would come later.

The blade was 95 centimeters longs, with a grip a fourth of that length. The guard was cross-shaped, like all other European short swords. It was bland, it was boring, but it was terribly powerful.

He chuckled as he placed the blade back down on his desk. No doubt the next wave of Executors would be wary now, they had thought they would be able to get in and kill him without much trouble. But they were met with resistance in the form of his servants, servants he had turned from being human.

They were loyal to him and only him, as he had personally trained all of them, he had broken them all, and pieced them together for his personal use. To some, it would be appalling, but to him, it was necessary. Not just for the maintenance for the castle, but to actually have someone to talk to at least. Spending so long cooped up in one place would make you stir-crazy.

He thought back to Lilly's report, and he couldn't help but ponder on what their next move might be. He briefly pondered if they would seek help, but dismissed that notion as irrelevant. More likely than not, they had already sent word and were asking for help, but that would do them no good. His magic would cut down anyone that would get in his way.

It was only the simple truth after all.

But with that thought, came a sudden clarity. He had sacrificed so much for this moment, the moment he finally was able to create. But what came after?

Perfection was the first thought in his mind, but then, after that? And then after he had finished with that, what would come after that? It was an endless cycle, a cycle that gave him pause. He pondered on whether he would even be able to live after all the atrocities he had done, and then shook his head.

More than likely he would be killed. But at least he had done it. He had finished his life's work, and now he was just a step closer to Akasha.

Of course he knew what Akasha was, he was a magus before he was a vampire after all, but then again, did he really want to get to Akasha in the first place?

He shook his head clear. Now wasn't the time to think about this, he didn't need another mid-life crisis. All that mattered right now was to perfect this technique. He closed his eyes and began to focus on the images in his mind.

"Coalesce: Power." He muttered for the… he had lost count after all this time. But the familiar power erupting from his hands made him smile.

Yes, even if he had repeated this process so tediously for so long, he still couldn't help but smile as it happened every time.

Denying that the sword was nothing, to make it into something. Yes, this was the nature of his power. All these images that flashed in his mind, all these imaginary swords, he denied that they never existed, and he would create something from that denial. He would create, and that was all he would ever do. Nothing could stop him if he still could think, if he could still imagine.

He would make sure he would leave his mark on this world, he would deny the emptiness that would be death.

He chuckled as he finally had an epiphany, so that was why he wanted to turn into a Vampire.

**XxX**

"Thank you! I'll have your order out in a few minutes." The waitress said with a cheery smile as she left the table, her brown eyes lingered onto Shirou for a brief second, before she finally left the table.

The air was still chilly, as it was still early into February. The trio sat in silence right outside of a café, the air was cold, but the humidity of the city more than made up for the coldness. But even then, the cold air that swept past them would guarantee chills if they hadn't dressed for the occasion.

Aoko was wearing a simple brown jacket that puffed into sections on the main body, her hood and the edges of her sleeves had fur lining as well, ensuring that all heat would stay in the jacket. Her inner shirt was a simple black turtleneck sweater, while she wore dark denim jeans with brown boots. All the brown suited her as she looked like a model that had just come back from a photo shoot. Her blood red eyes also gave her a rather exotic look that most women envied, and most men found hard not to stare at.

In contrast to Aoko however, Lorelei wore something that could be described as something that a noble wore. Her long sleeved white jacked that reached just past her waist and was zipped up to cover her white turtleneck. Her red ribbon was no longer around her neck, but instead tied to her right arm, giving her a certain strange look as the ribbon was tied on her shoulder, and what replaced the ribbon was a dark red scarf that reached just below her lower back. Her dark blue trousers reached past her knees and sunk into her boots, much like how her regular pants tucked under her boots. Her brown hair was tied in its signature ponytail, accentuating her brown hair and eyes as her looks gave the image of a professional in an office. A professional that was also a noble.

Both women were beautiful in their own ways, and both were the envy of women, and the apple of men's eyes.

So it was a strange sight to see both girls sit right across from a young man that looked like he belonged to the background.

Shirou hadn't dressed up for anything in his life, and he most certainly wouldn't start now, they were only going out for dinner and to talk after all. But the looks that he was receiving certainly made him feel inadequate as he was faced with these two beautifully women in front of him.

He was wearing a simple long sleeved blue shirt with a simple gray hoodie that was zipped up, leaving only a small part of his blue shirt exposed. He also had a red scarf around his neck, and unlike Lorelei's scarf, his was a lighter shade of red to compliment the gray of his jacket. His dark denim jeans and simple running shoes really gave off the impression that he was a background character.

He squirmed in his seat as he thought back to that waitress look, he had caught it of course, but he didn't know if her look was appraising, or one of confusion. Confusion as to why two beautifully women were taking the time and day to talk to him.

He snapped out of his thoughts however as he heard Aoko chuckle across from him. He raised an eyebrow over towards her direction, before she merely waved her hand in front of her face dismissively.

"You aren't feeling inadequate are you?" Erk. She, she had hit the nail on the head.

Seeing him pause and tense slightly, Aoko shook her head in amusement before she smiled at him. "Don't be so self-conscious Shirou." Aoko remarked before she smiled rather fondly at him. "You are rather handsome." She commented.

Shirou couldn't help but blush in embarrassment, not just from her casual way of saying that, but also from the fact that was the first time he had been complimented by a pretty woman. Ever… Fuji-nee didn't count for obvious reasons.

"I must admit, for someone from the East, you are rather handsome." He blushed even harder as Lorelei followed up Aoko's compliment, what was with them? "But that doesn't change the fact you're still rather plain in comparison to some people." Lorelei added, making Shirou's eyebrow twitch. That sounded like something Rin would say.

"Come on Miss Perfect," Aoko chided as she looked over towards Lorelei, who was sitting right next to her. "Not everyone can reach you impossibly high standards." Aoko said with a slightly miffed tone in her voice.

"What are you talking about Aoko?" Lorelei responded as she just crossed her arms over her chest. "My standards have nothing to do with this, it's the mere fact that I'm comparing Shirou to someone else is the relevant subject." Lorelei stated, her tone slightly defensive.

Aoko however, wasn't done as she shook her head. "That's not the point, you don't need to raise Shirou's self-esteem up, and just topple it down." Aoko explained, to which Shirou blushed even more.

It was endearing to be defended by Aoko, her calmness as she spoke and her belief in her words also reminded him of Rin whenever she got an idea in her head and how she would try to actually help him and defend him.

Lingering on the thought of Rin, he had drowned out the coming argument between Aoko and Lorelei as he thought about how both women reminded him of Rin in one way or another.

Lorelei was like Rin in the sense that she was analytical, calm and straightforward. Of course, Rin was rarely straightforward, but when she was, she went all the way with it. Lorelei seemed to accentuate these traits of Rin as she had an even deeper sense of analyzing, and her utter calmness in everything she did made her scary, not just in the battlefield, but also in whatever verbal battle you might get in with her.

Aoko was on the opposite scale. She was like Rin in a sense that she actually took the time and day to actually teach him, to help him, and to encourage him. If Lorelei accentuated some of Rin's traits, Aoko was the opposite, she dampened Rin's traits quite visibly. She was nicer, and she didn't feel the need to be condescending unless he actually did something glaringly stupid.

Aoko and Lorelei reminded him so much of Rin. And he couldn't help but feel guilty about it.

Here were two remarkable women, and he was comparing them to another remarkable woman, the thought of the action made Shirou feel guilty and contemptible. He shouldn't compare either of them to Rin, nor should he compare Rin to them.

And again, he felt guilty. It was like Rin was on another pedestal, a pedestal that these two women couldn't reach at all. What made him think these thoughts? All of them were remarkable, Rin with her snarky attitude that hid her caring side, Lorelei with her calmness and quick thinking, and Aoko with her willingness to teach him and put up with him. All three women were remarkable, they were amazing.

And yet, Rin seemed to have a higher pedestal than these two.

He snapped out his thoughts as he felt a hand land on top of his own that was placed on the table. He glanced up, only to be met with the worried red eyes of Aoko. "Shirou…?" Her voice trailed as she looked at him tentatively. He could only mentally slap himself. What was he doing? Spacing out and comparing them to each other? How pathetic could you get?

He pulled his hand away from under Aoko's own, slightly ashamed to have someone as nice as Aoko worry about him, who had been comparing her to two other women. "Sorry Aoko, I just… I just spaced out." He lied, not really wanting to talk about this particular subject to both of them. Not only because it was rude, but also for self-preservation. He didn't want to feel what the bottom of their boots feels like on his face.

Aoko raised an eyebrow at his strange movement, but before she could speak up, Lorelei had beat her to the punch. "Is it about the sword?" She asked, slightly surprising Aoko at how she could come to that conclusion so quickly.

Shirou only shook his head negatively. "No, it's not about that. It's something entirely different." Shirou lowered his voice, subtly telling them that he didn't want to talk about it.

But that did not deter them in the slightest.

However, before they could press him on the matter, the waitress returned with their hot meals, steam rising from them as she placed them on the table in front of their respective owners.

"Okay, is that all?" The waitress chirped with a bright smile as she placed the tray she had used to carry the food on her side. Shirou stole a glance over towards Aoko and Lorelei, who both looked about ready to dig into their respective meals without a second thought.

"No, I think that's everything. Thanks." Shirou smiled at the waitress, who seemed to visibly brighten as he did so, before she leaned slightly forward and placed a piece of paper in between Shirou's hands. Of course, the action caught the attention of both Aoko and Lorelei, who seemed none to pleased at the waitress as she turned around with a wink and swayed her hips rather provocatively as Shirou stared at her, dumbfounded. Was that why she was staring at him before?

Seeing as Shirou was still dumbly staring at the piece of paper in his hands, and glancing over towards where the waitress had left, Lorelei clicked her tongue and shook her head. Garnering Shirou's attention. "Such a lack of professionalism, she should know how to separate personal life with her work." She voiced her opinion as she took her knife and fork and cut into the meager steak that had been placed in front of her. She almost forgot about the waitress as she stared at the cut piece of steak. Well, at least they knew how to make a medium-rare steak, she thought as she placed the piece of meat into her mouth.

Aoko followed soon after as she grabbed a piece of her fried fish and dipped it into her sour cream sauce. The white sauce stuck to the fish as Aoko stared at it, and then narrowed her eyes and glared at Shirou. "And I'm disappointed in you Shirou, you know better than to consider actually taking up whatever offer she has." Aoko chided as she placed the fish into her mouth. Not at all bothered at how hot it was.

Shirou raised an eyebrow at them, what did he do now? He opened his mouth to ask that question, but the moment he did, both Aoko and Lorelei glared at him, almost daring him to continue with what he was about to say.

Shirou broke into a cold sweat as he laughed nervously. Yup, just like Rin.

**XxX**

After they had eaten their dinner. The waitress had made her rounds on their table once more, her movements more emphasized as she moved her arms in front of Shirou and her body bended much more than normal. Of course, she had stopped doing those things when she had turned around to grab Aoko and Lorelei's plates, as she was met with cold glares from the both of them. She had then sped up her exit, but not before taking one last glance over towards Shirou.

When they were clear, Aoko took a quick glance around, making sure there was no one in their immediate vicinity, before she quickly muttered something under her breath and slapped something on the table's bottom.

Shirou felt the wave of magic wash over him, and he turned an eye towards Aoko, who only smirked at him and winked. "Just an Bounded field courtesy of runes. Don't worry too much about it, it's just to make sure that no one can overhear our conversation. It's not nearly powerful enough that anyone will be able to make out something is weird." She explained.

Shirou nodded his head, before he turned his eyes over towards Lorelei, who had crossed her arms and closed her eyes, almost as if she was deep in thought.

After a few seconds of silence, Lorelei cracked open both eyes and met Shirou's gaze. Her brown eyes locking into Shirou's golden ones, sending an involuntary chill down his spine. "We've got a problem." She spoke in a clear tone, making sure her voice got across over towards Shirou and Aoko.

Aoko scowled and leaned forward, shifting her head so that she was staring at Lorelei. "What kind of problem?" She asked with narrowed eyes.

"Atlas wants to help with the Apostle hunt." Lorelei said with narrowed eyes. And in contrast to her narrowing of her eyes, Aoko's own widened in surprise.

"What? Are you sure?" Aoko asked in whispered tones, her voice holding a hint of apprehension in them. Her apprehension became visible as Lorelei nodded her head.

"Damn," Aoko swore as she bit her thumb's nail. "They said they didn't want to risk manpower over this." She said out loud, prompting Lorelei to narrow her eyes at her, her eyes glinting dangerously as she did so.

"What do you mean by that?" Lorelei asked, her tone clearly stating that whatever Aoko had to say, she had better like it.

Aoko wasn't fazed however as she just clicked her tongue. "You know my 'sources'?" She asked as she air quoted the word 'sources'. Lorelei nodded her head, understanding dawning to her as she pieced the small puzzle together. "Well, my sources happen to be in Atlas. They've been keeping tabs on Aemulo for over a century now, when they first heard about his research, they decided to keep an eye on them." She explained, and Lorelei could only nod her head in understanding.

Atlas was one of the three groups that made up the Mage's Association, the other two being the Clock Tower and the Sea of Estrange. Atlas was a group that focused on alchemy; they created most of the equipment the magical world used today. These items can range from Mystic Codes used by Enforcers, to creating homunculi that were used as familiars for rich families that ordered them. Not to mention the multiple potions and paper wards they mass produced for a quick and no-mess way of setting up Bounded Fields and cures for poisons and natural diseases.

Atlas was the richest of the three groups, as their income came not just from the Mage's Association, but also from multiple freelancers that didn't have the official backing of the Mage's association. They also dealt with the Church, but no one knew what exactly they did for them, rumors had people thinking they made potions that can help Executors fight at their peak, or that they supplied the Church with potions that helped cure the most, 'unholy', of ailments.

Either way, the group called Atlas was powerful, yet, they needed materials. So of course they would take note of Aemulo, as he was close to achieving something akin to the First True Magic, the 'Denial of Nothingness' that used Ether clumps. With the way Aemulo made these swords, what's to stop him from making an endless supply of magical materials that didn't exist anymore?

Of course, this also made a certain someone else susceptible to their scrutiny, even if all he could do was Trace a whole lot of swords. Swords that happen to be magical in nature, and would be immensely helpful when they were melted down and the ingredients segregated. They would find a way to stop the denying of Gaia on the unnatural existence of these items no doubt, but still, they would probably take him and do horrible things to his body just to make sure they can reproduce his particular branch of Magic.

"Uhh…" Shirou had absolutely no idea what they were talking about, and it was probably for the best, as he could just see the apprehensiveness in their bodies, the way they tensed, and the way the spoke in hushed whispers even though Aoko had placed a bounded field around them just a mere minute ago actually made him nervous. "What're we talking about?" He asked as he leaned closer over towards them, making sure he was actually part of this conversation, even if he didn't know what they were about to talk about.

Lorelei eyed leveled a glare at him, which made Shirou laugh nervously and scratch the back of his head.

Seeing as Shirou really was without prior knowledge to this, she then cast her glare towards Aoko, who took it full force without flinching. "You're his teacher, why doesn't he know about this?" She asked, and Aoko merely scoffed before she waved her hand dismissively.

"I didn't find it necessary for him to know about Atlas. They don't really get out of there pit over in Egypt much." Aoko reasoned. But she knew that was a weak excuse, only someone who was naïve to the magical world would actually take that excuse.

Aoko knew this, Lorelei knew this, and Aoko could only sigh as she was met with an angry glare of one Lorelei. "Alright." She let out a groan. "I forgot okay? It wasn't at the top of my list to teach him about the Mage's association. At least, not yet." Aoko grumbled as she pouted and crossed her arms. Giving her a childlike appearance for the briefest of moments.

Lorelei cast one last glare towards Aoko, before she turned towards Shirou, who was still waiting patiently for an explanation as to what they were talking about. "The mage's association consists of three parties. The Clock Tower, which you are part, the sea of estrange, and Atlas. Atlas is mostly a party of alchemists that deal with anyone and everyone." Lorelei gave him the shortened version to save time, and Shirou seemed to comprehend what he was told.

"Okay," He said as he nodded his head. "but what exactly does Atlas interfering with this hunt mean to us? And what 'sources' is Aoko talking about?" He emphasized the word sources with air quotes.

Lorelei shook her head. "Aoko's sources are inconsequential right now." Lorelei stated, smiling slightly as she heard Aoko grumble something from next to her. "Right now, the problem is Atlas itself. They usually don't deal with groundwork, as they prefer to do business and work in the sidelines."

"Okay, I get that," Shirou crossed his arms and closed his eyes. "What I don't get is why it's a problem. They're going to help us right? That'll only make our jobs easier." Shirou stated with a slight frown.

From across him, Shirou could hear both women sigh at his words. He opened his eyes and stared at the both of them with confusion. "What?" He asked.

"Use your head Shirou. Alchemists always require items, materials they need to make their products." Aoko's voice was exasperated, clearly whatever Shirou was missing, it was glaringly obvious. "Now, what will happen when someone, let's say, a red-haired man in his late teens, suddenly appeared that manages to Project near perfect replicas of swords?"

Shirou's eyes widened, finally realizing what she was saying. But a sliver of doubt was still in him. "They can't use my swords, they'll only disappear after awhile." Shirou reasoned, and this time, it was Lorelei who answered.

"Making a projection permanent is an easy affair." Lorelei said, but scowled before shaking her head. "Actually, not permanent. But they can make sure the projection and the materials it was made off would stay for a very long time." She finished, her brown eyes locked with Shirou's golden ones. And he couldn't help but flinch away from them and look back towards Aoko. But she too, had her eyes locked with his.

"Not only that," Aoko began. "But should they ever want your branch of magic to themselves, they'll kidnap you, experiment on you. And when they find out what makes you tick, they'll stuff your soul into a homunculus, making sure you stay loyal to them until your soul expires." Aoko said in a warning tone as she locked her red eyes with Shirou's golden ones.

Shirou couldn't help but swallow air. His throat was dry, and so were his lips. But not because of their warnings. But because of…

He slid the piece of paper the waitress had given him. They're eyes signaled that they were not amused with his action.

But as he turned the piece of paper around so they could read the words. Their eyes narrowed and a cold chill suddenly swept over the table. Never mind that it was February, this cold was something unnatural.

And the reason?

The piece of paper. The words on the paper?

**Isis wishes to meet you, come back tomorrow. You will want to hear what she says.**

**-Atlas**

**XxX**

**You know what's annoying? Opening your word document, and all you see are squares.**

**Seems like my file for Rise before Dusk got corrupted for God knows why. I managed to salvage some parts of it, but it'll have to be withheld for a few more days. Sorry. I know I promised I would focus on it, but as the note on top said. I'm writing both at the same time.**

**I know my limits though. I won't stretch myself thin. And hopefully, my writing will be the same.**

**Anyway, no news as of ye- oh wait. 203 reviews, 350 favs, and 401 follows, in just ten (relatively) short chapters. Commence screaming. *AHHHHH~~~~Etc.**

**Honestly, I didn't expect this story to get this popular. I know this is the first of its kind. But seriously. It's amazing to think about. And all because of you guys. I'd like to extend my thanks to you guys. Without you, this fic wouldn't have taken off as well as it would have. So, from the bottom of a humble writers heart. Thank you.**

**Now let's get to 500! Hey. I may be humble, but that doesn't mean I won't milk things when I want to! Hahaha!**

**But seriously though. I'm blown away with just 200 reviews. I'm not that greedy to plead for more reviews.**

**Anyway, as thanks to you guys. I'm willing to do a gimme. Next chapter, I'll post a hint about Shirou's Servant. Hopefully, it will be cryptic enough that you guys'll miss it completely. But if not, ah well, keep it to yourselves.**

**C.O.Y.L out, Peace.**

**P.S: I did not proofread this chapter. I'm too busy trying to recover my work on Rise before Dusk. So forgive any glaring mistakes you see please.**


	12. Reasons

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

**Right. My hard drive once again, got infected by a virus. I seriously have no idea why, I don't go to sites, and my Anti-virus detects viruses just fine.**

**Anyway, long story short, this chapter, which had 7k+ words ready, and was almost done with, was deleted. I didn't save it on my flash drive, and now I have to rewrite whatever I can.**

**Really. The universe hates me, first was Rise before Dusk, and now this. It's annoying.**

**But I won't let it get to me. And to prove it, here's the next chapter. I hope you guys enjoy it.**

**XxX**

"How was your trip Kiritsugu?" Illyasviel von Einzbern asked her father as she ran up to him. Kiritsugu stared at her, before he let out a ghost of a smile and leaned down to her head level.

He placed a hand on her head, before he brushed her long white hair. "It was fine Illya. Were you a good girl while I was away?" He asked her, and Illya smiled and nodded her head.

"Yes!" She responded with fervor, nodding furiously as she did so. "And you said that if I was good, you'd bring me back a present, right?" She asked as she held out her hand expectantly, eyes closed as she smiled at her father.

Kiritsugu couldn't help but smile at his daughter. But before he could respond to her, a new voice sounded from right around the corner. Her soft and angelic voice reverberated around the cold castle walls.

"Illya? Where are you?" The voice asked as the owner of said voice turned the corner. Kiritsugu was met with a beautiful woman with silver hair bordering on snow white. Her striking red eyes contrasted her hair and white dress; her heart shaped face and well developed body made her even an image of beauty that few could possibly match.

"Iri." Kiritsugu said as he straightened himself and greeted the woman. Who smiled as she caught sight of him.

"Kiritsugu, you're back already?" Her voice was soft, but her way of saying it made it sound like she was surprised that he had come back so quickly.

Kiritsugu narrowed his eyes slightly, before he nodded his head. "Yes," He began with a soft tone. "It wasn't much trouble actually." He finished.

Irisviel von Einzbern stared at her husband. Her eyes soft, but her mind going a mile a minute. She wasn't expecting him here so soon, no, she didn't want him here this soon. Her father might…

She was snapped out of her thoughts however as a hand took hold of hers. She looked down, and was met with the smiling face of her daughter.

The apple of her eyes smiled at her before she spoke, "Kiritsugu promised me that he would bring me something if I was a good girl!" She stated as she began to get antsy. "You'll tell him that I was a good girl right mom?" She asked with a slight sparkle in her eyes, making Iri smile down at her. But after the smile soon turned into a teasing one.

"Oh?" Iri began as she accentuated a hum. "I seem to recall someone running away from the maids when it was time for a bath." Iri said as she looked up and placed her left pointing finger on her chin. "And that someone also tried to use the computer and printer, only for her to break the printer and make it run out of ink as well." Iri said teasingly as she returned her gaze to a pouting Illya.

"It wasn't my fault!" She shouted indignantly. "Sella was telling me that I should take another bath when I already took a bath that morning!" Illya whined as she released her hold on her mother and stomped on the carpeted floor of the hall the three were in. "And I just wanted to see why Kiritsugu always spent time on his computer! I didn't know that it would break and throw ink everywhere!" Illya whined as she stared up at her smiling mother.

Kiritsugu couldn't help but let out a small smirk at the sight. It was amusing to see his wife tease their daughter, and it was even more amusing to see his daughter flustered. But Iri seemed to embrace the distraction, taking advantage of it and changing the subject rather quickly.

Just what was his wife hiding from him?

But before he could ask Iri, he was interrupted by his daughter, who took hold of his hand and stared up at him, her eyes slightly pleading. "You believe me don't you?" She asked, her voice pleading. Kiritsugu couldn't help but let out a bastardized smile.

"Sorry Illya." He began, making the girls scrunch up her lips and furrow her eyebrows. "But if you really did break my printer, then that isn't what a girl who had been good would do." He stated as he placed a hand on her head and ruffled her hair.

Illya sulked, before she suddenly took off down the hall. Surprising the two adults. Kiritsugu turned to stare as his daughter ran down the hall, before she stopped in the middle of it and turned around. Her tongue out as she shouted. "You big meanies!" She then promptly turned around once more and ran down the hall, faster than previously.

Kiritsugu let a small smile appear on his lips, before he shook his head. "Honestly," His wife sounded from behind him, he turned and faced her, she had been shaking her head with her eyes closed. "That girl is a handful sometimes." She finished as she turned towards Kiritsugu and smiled at him. "But she is rather cute." She added.

Kiritsugu couldn't help but nod his agreement. "Yes, she is cute." He agreed with his wife's observation. "And she can be handful." He added. "But that's why she's cute." He finished.

Iri could only nod her head in agreement. "I suppose that's why she's cute." She said with a smile.

Kiritsugu then smirked. "But she's cuter because she looks just like her mother." He said, surprising Iri slightly.

He didn't normally compliment, complimenting someone would do no good to anyone. But complimenting and telling someone something what they wanted to hear really made getting information from them easier.

But it did leave a bad taste in his mouth, even thought it was true, Illya looked like her mother, the mere fact that was doing this kind of thing to get information from his wife was just… bad.

Iri smiled as she stared at Kiritsugu. "I don't recall you ever one to compliment someone Kiritsugu," She said as she shook her head, staring at Kiritsugu as she stopped. "There's no need to compliment your wife for information, I'll gladly tell you what you want." She finished with another smile.

Kiritsugu could only frown before he nodded his head. "Sorry Iri." He apologized, he really should have known better than to do that.

Iri once more shook her head. "It's not a problem. Now come, we must make chase to our daughter before she injures herself." Iri said as she moved forward and took Kiritsugu's hand in hers and began to walk forward, slightly dragging a bewildered Kiritsugu behind her.

"Iri…" Kiritsugu began, his voice sounding slightly exasperated. Iri only giggled as she slowed before she matched with Kiritsugu's gait.

For awhile, the two were walking down the hall in companionable silence, neither one speaking, and both enjoying the others presence.

But the silence didn't last long, as Iri sighed before she finally spoke up. "Atlas requested help from us." She spoke in a silent tone, but Kiritsugu caught it easily given that he was right next to her.

Kiritsugu's eyebrows rose slightly in surprise. "Oh?" He began. "What did they want?" He asked, his voice silent as he continued to walk with Iri's hand in his.

Iri sighed before she let go of Kiritsugu's hand and took his entire arm and interlocked it with her own. "They were asking for help against an Apostle Ancestor." She said as they both continued to walk down the carpeted hall, both of their eyes searching for their daughter.

Kiritsugu narrowed his eyes slightly as he heard Iri. "Which one?" He asked, his tone reverting back to his business mode.

Iri sighed before she smacked Kiritsugu lightly on the arm, and although it did not hurt him in the slightest, it still surprised Kiritsugu that his wife would do it at all.

Kiritsugu regarded Iri with a questioning glance, and she responded with a roll of her own eyes. "Don't take that tone with me Kiritsugu. This isn't an interrogation. I'm telling you everything that I know." She said as she turned a corner, dragging Kiritsugu with her as their arms were still interlocked.

Kiritsugu sighed before he nodded his head. "I'm sorry Iri. It's just," He began as he sighed once more. "I don't get how this correlates to you asking me to cash in that Dead Apostle's body." He said truthfully.

And though he had an inkling of why she did so, that didn't mean that he was right. If there was one thing his line of work taught him, his gut feeling isn't always right. He needed more information so that he could plan. He didn't like going into something without a plan, and if he was ever caught without a plan, it was good to have at least information. But in the rare case that he didn't have a plan, he had no resources, and he didn't have information. He would trust his head more than his gut. Using your head meant you were thinking, using your gut meant your body was doing the thinking. And although it was good to have your body think for itself when fighting, using your head would make using your body even easier.

It was headache inducing to think about, but to him, it made absolute sense. His body didn't react to killing, it only reacted to protecting himself. His brain was the one that reacted.

Iri snapped him out of his thoughts however as she sighed. "I was getting to that Kiritsugu." She said as she returned her gaze towards the hall.

"To answer your first question though. I believe it was someone called Aemulo? Did I pronounce that right?" She thought out loud as she hummed right after. Kiritsugu's eyes narrowed slightly.

"The Envious?" He asked her. And Iri hummed for a second before she nodded.

"I can't believe I didn't see that," Iri sighed as she gripped Kiritsugu's arm tighter, a pout forming on her lips. "Aemulo means jealousy right? In Latin?"

Kiritsugu shook his head. "Not quite." He corrected, making Iri's pout deepen. "Aemulo is an obscure word in the Latin language. It can mean 'Envy of Men", or 'Envious of Man'." Kiritsugu explained.

Iri's eyes brightened slightly. "Or it could also mean 'Deeply jealous', or 'to rival with' right?" She added. Kiritsugu nodded his head, making Iri smile in joy.

"That's right," He said as he placed his right hand up to his chin. "But it's also the name of an Apostle Ancestor candidate." He finished as he closed his eyes.

Iri raised an eyebrow at him. "He's only a candidate?" She asked Kiritsugu, who removed his hand on his chin and nodded at her.

"Yes." He said. "He had been offered a seat multiple times already, but each time he has declined." He explained as he hummed. "I believe that he has expressly said that joining the Ancestors would be counter productive to his research."

Iri raised an eyebrow at that piece of information. "What exactly is his research?" She asked. Kiritsugu just closed his eyes and hummed, clearly thinking of an answer to her question. Whether this was because he didn't know what he was researching on, or didn't know how to phrase it was lost to Iri.

"I believe," He trailed as he opened his eyes and looked down towards Iri. "His research has something to do with the first magic." He stated, before he hummed once more. "At least, that was what was reported about him."

Kiritsugu thought for another moment, before he looked over towards his wife, who tilted her head in confusion. "They asked for me didn't they?" He asked her, and Iri could only sigh before she nodded her head.

"Atlas expressly asked for your help on this one. My father would have agreed, had it not been for the fact that-"

"That I was in London in the Clock Tower." Kiritsugu finished for his wife, watching as Iri start to smile wryly at him. He could only sigh.

"That's right." Iri chirped as she clung onto Kiritsugu even harder. "I know you, and I know that you wouldn't pass the chance of actually participating in an Apostle hunt, much less a hunt for a Ancestor. So I needed you out of here, at least, just until father told them the news that you weren't available." Iri stated, making Kiritsugu sigh.

"I take it they still persisted?" It was a rhetorical question. They both knew the answer to that question was a definite yes.

"My I knew my father wouldn't be so quick to refuse Atlas if there was another way," Iri's voice took a turn towards softer and darker. And Kiritsugu couldn't help but narrow his eyes slightly. Now that he thought about it, where was Maiya?

His eyes widened as he pieced together what Iri was going to tell him. He turned his head towards Iri, who had begun to cling to his arm even tighter. Her lips were pursed as she stopped walking, her grip on Kiritsugu's arm trembling slightly.

"He sent Maiya to help Atlas." She said what he already knew. And he couldn't help but grit his teeth. This was… This was… This was-!

Before he could let his anger escape him however, a strong grip on his arm stopped his train of thought. "I know it's bad." His wife said as she looked down, her hair casting shadows on her eyes, hiding them from anyone watching. "I know it isn't part of your plans, I know it's unprecedented, and I know it's a horrible turn of events." Each word spoken from Iri's mouth was forced, almost pleading. Kiritsugu couldn't help but look down as he clenched his fists. It was more than that! Maiya was integral to the War! I can't afford to lose her! Not now!

"I tried to tell my father to just decline." Iri stated as she gripped even tighter onto Kiritsugu's arm, making it blanch slightly from forearm downwards. "But he said that he couldn't, not when it was Atlas asking for assistance."

He clicked his teeth. He knew just how much pull Atlas had on the Einzbern family. The richest sect of the Mage's Association that primarily consisted of Alchemists provided the Einzbern with the materials they needed for their experiments with Homunculi, and, whether they wanted to or not, Atlas could and would pull them into whatever they needed them for. Even though the Einzbern were allied with and were part of the Clock Tower, with a very small part aligned to the Sea of Estray; Atlas, with their immense wealth and constant supply of materials for the Einzbern's had the family in their grip.

Why was this happening now? He hadn't heard of Atlas actually mobilizing and trying to actively join an Apostle hunt! Why was Atlas active now? They already had knowledge about Aemulo, they knew he was researching the First Magic, they knew he was integral to their continued business. But why did they need to be active right now? Not later, after he was actually Designated and to be sealed?

This wasn't adding up, he was missing something, a missing link that connected Atlas' active approach to Aemulo, and Atlas asking for the Einzbern's help and requesting Kiritsugu Emiya, the 'Magus Killer's' help.

The grip on his arm loosened slightly, and he turned an eye towards his wife. Who seemed to have visibly calmed down as she stopped trembling and was actually looking up at him, staring at him with eyes filled with what he could only describe as resolve.

"But Father didn't send Maiya out there alone," She began as she took a deep breath. "He had Riza come with her." She finished, making Kiritsugu's eyes narrow slightly.

"Isn't she just a prototype?" He asked bluntly, and Iri couldn't help but smile at him sadly.

"In essence yes. She is the newest model, Father had been designing a battle model and this is the first working one he managed to create." Iri stated as she looked down and away from Kiritsugu, her grip on his arm loosening as she let her arms drop to her sides.

Kiritsugu took note of the behavior, and couldn't help but flinch as they words he had just said finally registered into his mind. "Iri…" His voice was soft as he tried to apologize.

His words died on his lips however as Iri only turned around and shook her head at him. "Don't worry about it Kiritsugu." She began; a sad smile appearing on her lips. "I know what I am, and I don't mind at all." She said. And although she said it with a smile, Kiritsugu knew she was lying.

"Iri…" He tried once more, but again, he was cut off.

"I've to look for our daughter now." She began as she walked past him, leaving him staring at her back. "If you wish to know more, you can ask Father. I believe he is in his workshop right now." Her voice was hurried, and her gait was fast.

Kiritsugu could only stare at his wife's back as she turned a corner. He had a frown on his face, before he balled his hands into fists.

Taking a deep breath, he turned around and began his journey towards his step-father's workshop. He can apologize to his wife later, right now. He needed answers, answers that hopefully his step-father had.

**Fate: Zero/Night**

**XxX**

"I'm coming, I'm coming. Hold your horses will you? I'm not going anywhere." Touko muttered as she took a whiff of her cigarette as she walked towards the door that granted access to her workshop. Which, coincidentally, was being knocked at by someone that either couldn't wake, or had no courtesy to just trust in her that she had heard the knocking the first fifteen times.

Stopping in front of her door, she took another drag out of the cigarette in her mouth, before she pulled open the door, exhaling as she did so. "Alright, what do you want?" Her voice was irate as the cloud of smoke washed over a familiar face with a mop of red hair on top his skull.

Coughing as he waved away the smoke that was blown into his face, Shirou spoke up. "Touko?" He said in between coughs. Touko only raised an eyebrow at the strange guest, before she leaned on the doorway with her shoulder, lazily letting it support her weight as she stared at the; as she liked to call him, 'Tracer'.

"Oh?" She began. "What brings you here Shirou?" She asked. And though her voice sounded lazy, it held a certain curiosity mixed with sharpness in them. She took another whiff of her cigarette as she watched him cough and wave at the cloud of smoke that invaded his space.

Finally, after clearing away the smoke, Shirou opened his mouth to answer her question, but was cut off as Touko exhaled another cloud of smoke into his face. Coughing as he waved his hand frantically in front of his face, he cast a glare at Touko, cracking one eye open so that he could see her. "Do you," He coughed again. "Did you have to do that?" He managed to say weakly as he waved his hand in front of his face.

Touko shrugged before she answered in a lazy tone. "Have to? No. Want to? Yes I do." She said in a lazy tone.

Shirou couldn't help but glare at her as he finally managed to clear the smoke cloud. Her voice may have sounded lazy, but to Shirou. Her voice sounded more cheeky than lazy.

"Listen Shirou, if all you're gonna do is stand there and glare at me, I'm gonna slam the door shut right on your face." She said as she pushed herself off the doorframe before she stepped quietly to the side, taking another whiff of her cigarette. "Now, if you have something to talk about, you can step inside and we can discuss it in here. What's it gonna be?"

Shirou blinked once, and then twice, and then three times. Before he looked towards Touko and looked at her almost indignantly.

Touko sensed his question, and she couldn't help but smirk slightly. "At least my sister is teaching you something." She said with a smirk. "Don't worry. I won't kill you for seeing something in my workshop. Everything I'm researching on, as well as everything I've been doing can be researched by taking the right books in a magical library." She explained, before she allowed herself her smirk to widen. "Of course, there's also the fact that no one can actually use my branch of magic as well as I do. I'm just that good."

That wasn't arrogance in her part. Shirou knew that without questioning it, the way she carried herself, and the way she said that without pause told Shirou that all Touko was doing was stating a fact.

He took one glance behind him, looking over the sea of faces that were students and teachers of the Clock Tower, and met with red eyes as his eyes swept over a bench by a corner.

Shirou had to resist the urge to flinch as Aoko's red eyes pierced him, her eyelids narrowed as she observed him and her sister as if judging if she should sweep in and just abandon the plan.

Shirou shook his head slightly, an action that seemed to make Aoko scowl, before she shut her eyes and looked away. The gesture may as well have said "Do whatever you want, I don't care."

Shirou could only let out a ghost of a smile before he turned his head and walked into Touko's workshop.

He didn't see that Aoko had reopened her eyes and saw him enter as a deep scowl appeared on her face.

"So," Touko's voice sounded from behind him as he heard the door was closed. He turned around and looked at Touko, raising an eyebrow in question. "What do you think?" She gestured her hand grandly, sweeping it across as if to show him what to look at.

Shirou allowed his gaze to wander as he took in the rather large workshop of Touko Aozaki.

If he had to sum it up in a word, he would have said it looked 'creepy'. Wooden mannequins hung from the walls and the ceilings, they leaned on the walls while standing, sitting, or even lying face down. Some had hair, some didn't, some were missing limbs, and some looked like bastardized people that were made of wood and had wooden mouths that gaped wide as they stared at you with black abysses that were eyes.

The walls that some of mannequins were leaning on or were hung against had shelves filled with books, books that looked like they were handwritten, most likely by Touko herself. He could see that the books didn't fit on the shelves as some books were scattered on the floor, either open, closed, or simply piled together rather messily.

His gaze shifted from the books, over towards a single surgeons table standing smack-dab in the middle of the room. A single light illuminating its reflective silver surface while a pile of books were stacked right by its edge and an ashtray filled with cigarette butts placed right beside it.

He had to resist the urge to clean up as he saw the ashtray filled with cigarette butts. It was prodding at him, telling him to clean it as each cigarette butt was standing simply because it was filled to the brim by ash and the butts themselves.

He returned his gaze towards Touko, who was smirking at him as she waited for his remark about her workshop.

He opened his mouth, and then bit his tongue. He was about to say it looked 'nice.' But that would have been a lie, and if anything, he was told that he was bad at lying. And it wouldn't be right, here was Touko quietly waiting for his input about her workshop, and all he was going to do was lie about it.

No, he would tell the truth.

"It's…" He trailed as he looked at Touko and stared into her red eyes behind her glasses. Touko raised her cigarette to her mouth again, before she took one final whiff and then threw the cigarette butt on the ground, stomping it out as it rolled forward. She breathed out, and the resulting smoke cloud really cemented the fact that whatever Shirou was going to say would either get him branded as someone that lied, and someone that simply told the truth.

"It's?" Touko gestured for Shirou to continue his sentence, almost daring him to complete it as she closed her eyes and allowed her smirk to widen.

Should he real- Ah screw it.

"It looks like one giant pig-sty. You should really tidy up here, that, or I'm gonna take your workshop away from you and clean it up myself." Shirou frowned as he stared straight into Touko's red eyes.

Touko could only blink, before she allowed herself to smirk. "I have to hand it to you. I thought you'd be one of the sheeple." She stated as she walked past him with a small smile on her face. Shirou could only frown before he turned around and began to follow her. "Always complimenting as you tried to butter up people to get what you want. You're a breath of fresh air." She stated with honesty.

Touko reached the table in the middle of the room and sat on top of it, turning around and grabbing a book from the stack that was placed just to the side of it. She opened the book and removed a bookmark before she proceeded to cross her legs, giving Shirou a brief glimpse of pur-

He willingly cut himself from those thoughts as he looked away faster than one could blink, all the while blushing furiously.

Touko seemed to notice his conundrum before she let herself smile slightly; she then buried her face back on her handwritten book that had notes about her latest puppet. It was supposed to be a long-range combat type. She had no idea how to get the theory into the puppet, but she wanted an archer puppet. She had been inspired after she had glimpsed on a group of archers practicing whilst she was out in the European country side. Needless to say, she was impressed after seeing a particular archer hit a target spot on from one hundred and thirty meters. And that was without magic. If she could reproduce that kind of level of skill, and then reinforce that skill with magic. She would have herself another source of income by having a sniper that assassinated targets that she was paid to take out.

"So," Touko began from behind her book, still quite amused with Shirou's embarrassment. "What brings the mighty Steel Magus in my humble workshop?" She asked as she moved her book downward, showing off her amused smile.

Shirou meanwhile couldn't help but tilt his head in confusion. "Steel Magus? What are you talking about?" He asked her.

Touko smiled as she fully placed her book down and leaned backwards, her arms supporting her weight as she did so. "Steel Magus, it's the nickname you've been given by the people that watched your little duel with Lorelei." Touko explained. "It's fitting in my opinion." She added with a slight smile.

Shirou raised an eyebrow, before he shook his head clear. This isn't what he came here for.

"I need a favor." He said as he stared at Touko, who raised an eyebrow in question.

"Oh?" She began as she leaned forward, her hands now resting on the edges of the silver table as she stopped herself from falling off the table. "And what kind of favor would the Steel Magus possibly want?" She said with a smirk, obviously teasing Shirou with his newly learned nickname.

Shirou sighed before he stared blankly at Touko. "Can you stop using that? I didn't even know that I had a nickname in the first place." He stated with another sigh.

Touko could only smile as she straightened himself. "Oh really now?" She began with mock confusion. Shirou couldn't help but look at her with raised eyebrows. "I'd have thought that my sister would have told you already. I was the one that told her about your nickname anyway." Touko said with a smirk.

Shirou narrowed his eyes in annoyance. "Yeah well, I don't care about that." He stated with a huff. "I just don't want getting called by anything other than my name that's all." He finished as he crossed his arms over his chest and frowned at Touko.

Touko however, was simply staring at him with a smirk. "Okay then." She said as she crossed her arms over her chest. Mimicking Shirou's standing form. "I won't call you the Steel Magus anymore…" She trailed and Shirou couldn't help but narrow his eyes as she saw her smirk rather haughtily. "…Tracer."

Shirou threw his hands in the air in defeat.

**XxX**

"Atlas huh." Touko hummed in thought as she placed a hand on her chin. She had longed abandoned her seat on the table and had henceforth projected a chair that she could sit on.

Of course, Shirou was left to fend for himself as she didn't feel like projecting another chair just for him, and also because he was a Master of projecting. But to Touko's surprise however, Shirou didn't Trace nor Project a chair. He merely sat on the floor, cross-legged as he stared up at her form, waiting patiently for her answer.

She couldn't help but think about how different a Magus Shirou really was. To willingly allow himself to sit on the floor while she sat on a chair; it was like he didn't care about pride at all. Normally a Magi would insist that they would be your equal unless proven otherwise, but here was a Magus that willingly lowered himself towards someone that he thought was higher in terms of power and rank than him.

It was a strange experience for Touko, strange, but not unpleasant.

"Aoko said that you would know more about Atlas than her and Lorelei." Shirou explained from his position. "She said something about 'mutualism'?" Shirou stated as he crossed his arms over his chest as he stared up at Touko.

Touko regarded him with a calculating look, obviously slightly perturbed that Aoko's name came up.

Finally, after a few seconds of staring at Shirou, Touko frowned. "So she wants you to seek help from me," She explained, but before Shirou could nod his head in affirmation, Touko continued. "And by helping you, I would be helping her." At this, Touko let out a sigh of exasperation. "That woman can't seek help from me even if her life depended on it. But now that she has you as a buffer between us, she wants to use you." She stated as she narrowed her eyes at Shirou, almost daring him to refute her.

To her surprise however, Shirou only shrugged his shoulders as he closed his eyes and shook his head. "Yeah, I know." He stated as he opened his eyes to stare at Touko. "Doesn't mean I won't help her though." He said as he stared into Touko's red eyes defiantly.

Touko's frown deepened as she stared back. "That's some special kind of loyalty you have there Shirou," Touko stated with narrowed eyes. "I hope you know who you can place your trust into, lest it bite you in the ass." Touko said as she glared at him.

In response to her glare however, Shirou could only smile. "Yeah," He began with a beam. "I really do." He said as if stating a fact.

Touko was taken aback by his declaration, she couldn't really respond to that. The pure trust he was showing to her was otherworldly. Had her sister and Shirou advanced their relationship so much to warrant such trust? As far as she knew, two years ago Aoko was taken in as an apprentice for the Kaleidoscope, and there was never a report of Aoko actually taking in a student of her own. Yet, when Aoko returned to the Clock Tower, not only was Shirou in tow, but Aoko had also wanted to set up her workshop in the Clock Tower. Even after she had refuted and refused all previous attempts of getting her in the Clock Tower in the first place.

Whoever Shirou really was, it was obvious he either had something big going down that warranted Aoko's about-face. Or that Shirou was changing Aoko, whether consciously or otherwise was up to debate.

Shirou regarded Touko with a confused look as she seemed to be in deep thought. He coughed to try and get her attention, which it did. "Anyway," He began as he stared at Touko. "You think you can help with Atlas?" He asked rather tentatively.

Touko's response came with a smile. "Oh no, I don't think I can." She began as she reached for her front pocket again, bringing out her box of cigarettes and lighter. She took the last stick in it and lit it before she took a deep whiff. "I know I can." She finished as she exhaled, the cloud of smoke rising into the air as Shirou could only stare at her with slight confusion.

"Now," Touko began as she stood from her seat and walked over towards Shirou. "I've got a few questions for you." She said as she leaned forward into Shirou's face, her eyes narrowed as she stared into his golden brown eyes.

Shirou swallowed a lump forming in his throat. He had a feeling this wasn't a simple question, and hopefully, just hopefully, his instincts might be wrong right now.

He bit his lower lip, before he nodded his head and steeled himself. "Go on." He was amazed that he didn't stutter in the least.

Touko narrowed her eyes even more. "First:" She began as she leaned back and held up one hand with her finger pointer extended. "You've got Avalon in you, I want to know why you have it."

Blink. Blink twice. Then blink another three times just to be sure.

He could only stare at Touko, unable to formulate any coherent thought as he just heard something that he absolutely knew nothing about.

"So you don't know huh." Touko said before Shirou could actually answer her. He managed to scrunch up his face somewhat to look slightly confused as well as shocked. But as he tried to ask her the question in the forefront of his mind, he found that even his voice failed him as he opened his mouth and tried to speak. Only managing to let out air as he stared at Touko.

"I thought this would happen, but the probability of you not knowing actually was very slim." Touko explained as she sighed. She then shook her head before she raised her middle finger and looked at Shirou once again. The same serious expression she had before returning full force.

"Second question: Your Tracing. Can you possibly teach me how you do it?" She asked. And Shirou finally managed to snap out of his thoughts and managed to tilt his head in confusion.

"Really?" He asked, disbelief in his voice. To his surprise however, Touko sighed before she shook her head.

"I guess that's a no then. It was a long shot, but I thought you'd te-"

"I never said no!" Shirou interrupted before Touko could finish, slightly surprising her. She looked at Shirou with a confused look, prompting Shirou to just sigh before shaking his head.

"I didn't say anything about not teaching you, it's just a surprise." He began as he looked up at Touko. "My branch of magic, Tracing, isn't really anything special. I didn't expect anyone to actually want to learn it." He explained as he crossed his arms over his chest.

Touko could only raise an eyebrow in question. "No one? Not even your student?" She asked as she looked at Shirou, who only shook his head.

"It's not that Lorelei doesn't want to, in fact." He stopped as she hummed in thought, recalling the morning he had with his student after Atlas had approached them. "I tried teaching her this morning." He finished as she sighed.

Touko sensed his apprehension and couldn't resist leaning forward, raising an eyebrow in question. "And what happened?" She asked, curiosity getting the better of her.

Shirou smiled awkwardly as he raised his right hand and scratched the back of his head. "It went well for the simple stuff, like a wooden table, or a chair." He began as he crossed his arms over his chest and hummed in thought.

"But-?" Touko sensed that there was something he was about to tell her, and it would either be humorous, or completely serious.

"But when I tried to give her something complex to Trace, she just couldn't." He said. Touko frowned before she shook her head.

"I won't ask, but I do still want to know about Tracing." Touko said as she stared at Shirou. Who only nodded his head.

"Sure, just come over whenever you want. I'll explain it to you." He said with a smile.

Touko looked at him with a raised eyebrow, before she sighed and brought her hands down. "That's all I got." She said as she took another whiff from her cigarette.

Shirou raised an eyebrow, before he nodded his head. "Then you'll help with Atlas?" He asked her, and Touko could only smirk and nod.

"That was the deal." She said as she walked past him. "Now shoo! I've got work to do, I'll meet you tonight before you meet with Isis."

Shirou could look at her dumbly for a few seconds, before he shrugged and followed through with her order.

As Shirou reached the door however, Touko's voice stopped him.

"Remember to dress formally tonight," She said from behind Shirou's back. He was about to ask why, but Touko next words were already in the air. "It's best to leave a good impression on them. You don't want to get stuck in a homunculus' body now would you?"

And with that, Shirou left the room, leaving Touko to her thoughts as she heard the door slam shut from behind her.

'_Atlas, just what do you want with Shirou?'_ She thought as she took one last whiff of her cigarette and threw it on the ground, putting it out with the heel of her shoes.

**XxX**

**Training with Shirou**

**Lesson 1: Tracing Swords**

"I can't." Lorelei huffed as she stared at the offending piece of item as if it was something made by the Devil himself.

"What do you mean you can't?" Shirou asked as he watched Lorelei stare at the item in his hands.

"It means just what it means," Lorelei said as she narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest. "I can't Trace that." She stated with a slight huff.

Shirou tilted his head in confusion before he looked down onto the sword that he had asked Lorelei to Trace. And almost immediately after catching a glimpse of it, he remembered that it was made of obsidian, forged from the fires of Mt. Vesuvius, and was rarely used in battle as the owner never really took it out from its case.

"Look," Shirou began as he held out the decorative sword. Lorelei sighed before she followed her teacher's instruction. "Just repeat the steps I taught you. There's really no other way of doing this."

Lorelei sighed before she took another look at the sword. She held up her right hand and hovered it over the sword as she closed her eyes. She focused as she steadily breathed in and out.

"Trace On." She muttered. She could see the sword in her mind, the atoms that made it, the mass, the weight, the length; she could feel it start to form in her mind.

"Judging the concept of creation," She continued as the memories of the sword being forged, or more accurately, why it was being forged. It was made as a decorative piece, to cement the idea that they were ahead, that they could make something from something as hard and brittle as obsidian.

"Hypothesizing the basic structure," She could feel the sword to start forming solidly. The weight, the shape, the length, and its hardness.

"Duplicating the composition material," Obsidian. The blade was made of pure obsidian, and the hilt was made from leather and skin. Yes, it was beginning to solidify now. She could feel her od coalesce in her hand, the heat emanating from it making her sweat slightly.

"Imitating the skill of its making," Hammer it as it cooled, dab it into the lava, repeat multiple times and then soak it in oil before water to harden. She could see the hammers striking the sword as it was refined even more, she could feel the lava all around it as it was drowned into the liquid fire before it was dabbed into oil and then water.

"Sympathizing with the experience of its growth," The sword was formed, and now it was being used. She could feel it flow through the air as practice swings were made with it.

She was about to continue the steps, but a sudden headache stopped her from doing so. She could feel the sword slip out of her minds grasp as the sword evaporated into nothing but memories.

She cursed silently as she kneeled on one knee, breathing heavily as she flipped her inner switch.

'_Damn it!' _She cursed as she punched the ground with her fist. It was always at that part! Why was it so hard to sympathize with a damned sword?!

Shirou sighed, finally understanding just where she went wrong. "I think I get why you're having a hard time." He said, prompting Lorelei to look up and stare at him with something akin to loathing.

"It's not for the lack of trying mind you," He almost squeaked as he saw Lorelei glare at him. He coughed to regain his bearing, before he looked back up towards Lorelei. "It's that you can't sympathize with a sword."

At this, Lorelei eyes softened as she looked at Shirou in confusion. "I can't sympathize with a sword?" She repeated, and Shirou nodded his head in confirmation.

"Listen, when I say sword, what do you think? What comes into your mind?" He asked her as he sat down and signaled for Lorelei to do the same.

She frowned slightly at the question before she followed him to sitting. "A sword is a tool. It is a means to an end; it is used to strike, to kill, and to advance forward." She stated without stopping.

Shirou nodded his head. "That sounds about right." He said.

This prompted an angry glare from Lorelei. "Then why can't I Trace this sword?" She asked, her patience wearing thin as she could only glare at the sword Shirou had to his right. The obsidian blade was just sitting there, almost mocking her as she stared at it.

Shirou sighed before he picked up the sword and examined it by looking it over. "It's not the fact that you can't Trace it. Anyone can Trace a sword. You can even Trace chairs and tables if you wanted to." He said, which prompted Lorelei to nod her head in affirmation. After all, they had been Tracing the wooden chair and table of Aoko for awhile.

"It's the fact that you're not cutting corners." He stated as he allowed the sword to vanish into the air.

Lorelei stiffened, before she glared at Shirou, daring him to repeat the words he had just said. That was an insult to her. As a Barthomeloi, she did not cut corners. She did everything towards perfection, and if she couldn't do it in perfection. She would keep trying until she gets it towards perfection.

Shirou, sensing the hostility coming from Lorelei, raised his hand to placate the miffed Lorelei. "Listen," He began as he looked up and stared at Lorelei. Lorelei's eyes softened slightly as she looked at him, the frown on Shirou's face telling Lorelei all she needed. "When you Trace, you don't create something from nothing. You take the memories of something and give it solid form. Whether this be a chair, a table, or a sword. Everything you Trace is something that has existed before." He explained as he held out his hand.

"You don't think like that." He said as light suddenly began to coalesce in Shirou's hand. "You managed to Trace the table and the chair simply because they had no memories to give you except for the number of people that sat on it. What their posteriors felt like, what was placed on top of it before. These memories are easy to remember and to catalogue." He explained as the light began to take the shape of a chair.

Shirou placed the chair down on the ground, before he turned towards Lorelei. "But Tracing something that is complex, like a sword, spear, mace, axe, etc." He said as he held out his hand again, the same light forming in his hands one more time. "You don't just take in who held them, what they were used for, or even how many times they were used to kill people." He explained as another sword, this one different than the obsidian one Lorelei had been trying to Trace, appeared in his hands.

The sword was a typical knight's sword. Made of steel, with comfortable leather handles and a cross guard. Lorelei could only look at it and narrow her eyes. If what he was telling her to Trace was so complex, why make her do it in the first place?

"You Trace a sword, and you Trace it's previous owners." He finally said as he gave the sword a few practice swings.

"What do you mean by that?" Lorelei asked with raised eyebrows. Shirou hummed in thought as he thought about what to say, before he managed to nod his head.

"Just think of it like being wielded." He said, prompting Lorelei to raise an eyebrow. "When you Trace a sword, you become the sword. You don't become the owners of the sword, you become the sword itself and allow yourself to be wielded." He finished with a small smile.

Shirou had to pat himself on the back, that sounded like a Tohsaka explanation. And Rin would have probably complimented him for being thorough in his explanation, or berate him for explaining things so simply. And knowing Rin, probably both.

Shirou was taken away from his thoughts as he heard Lorelei sigh. He looked up and saw that Lorelei was shaking her head in disbelief. He raised an eyebrow in question and tried to ask what was wrong. But Lorelei was already speaking, her tone a mixture of exasperation and slight disappointment.

"This is an amazing branch of magic, but the way you do it would leave a bad taste in most Magi's mouths." Lorelei said as she looked up into Shirou's eyes.

Shirou could only nod his head. "Yeah, Magi are proud. They won't just let themselves be wielded." He added with Lorelei's sentence. Before he raised an inquiring eyebrow at her.

"But are you like most Magi?" He asked her, and she scoffed before she raised her hand and took one last glimpse at the sword that Shirou had Traced. Lorelei then promptly closed her eyes and started to focus as white light emitted from her hands once more.

"No I am not." She declared. Which prompted a smirk from Shirou.

But before Shirou could leave Lorelei alone, she had one last question she wanted to ask him. "Hey Shirou," She began, her eyes still closed as she focused on the blade. Shirou turned towards her, an eyebrow raised in question.

"Yeah?" He signaled for Lorelei to continue.

"You're distorted." She declared before she cracked one eye open to stare at him. "You allow others to wield you, yet a swords destiny is to kill and rust away. Possibly break along the way." She explained as the light began to take a solid shape.

Shirou could only nod slowly before he turned around. Intent on leaving Lorelei alone to concentrate.

And as he left the room to find Touko as per Aoko's request. He didn't notice Lorelei fully Tracing the simple sword he had left with her.

**XxX**

**FINALLY! My PC is fixed now. So expect regular updates soon!**

**I believe I left a rather obvious clue as to who Shirou's Servant will be. But hopefully, it's obscure enough that you guys won't pick up on it sometime soon.**

**Also, people. I know my Nasuverse okay. I know Zelretch isn't the director. I know Aoko has blue eyes. But I'm doing everything for a reason. Well, except for Aoko's red eyes. I just like her with red eyes. Problem?**

**As for Zelretch, it was Geneva who stated that Zelretch was the director. But believe me, she has reasons for doing that.**

**And also, some people are asking why is Zelretch looking for Shirou for help when he can save the world himself. Well, aside from being far from Altruistic, Zelretch won't do. The antagonist I have planned will kill Zeltretch with just a flip of a hat. And before all you guys say that no one can do that. Think about this. Zelretch stopped the moon from falling. Why? Because he'll die. Zelretch is powerful yes, but he works on Parallel worlds. Meaning there is not just one Zelretch. If he dies in one world, he's dead there permanently.**

**Anyway, I'll keep this note short. I'll just say thanks guys. 222 reviews, 400 favs, and 463 follows is amazing for me.**

**C.O.Y.L out, peace!**

**P.S: Again haven't proofread this.**


	13. Riddle Me This

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

**Edit: Okay people, since most of you guys are just pointing out my rant and completely ignoring the story (at least, in your reviews). I've been forced to write a warning. All reviews after September 30 2014, GMT + 08:00 (otherwise known as China standard time), that had no mention of the chapter in any way will be reported. All reviews are meant for the chapter, and the chapter alone. Not to state your conflicting views with the writer's. If you guys really want to state your views. Log in and pm me. Do not review if all you're going to do is point out how I'm wrong, or why you think I'm wrong with Tracing, UBW, Avalon, or Zel. This is not an act of childishness, nor is it an act of someone pissed off. I'm just telling you guys to not do that unless you guys want your accounts banned.  
**

**To clear things up. Tracing is not directly correlated with Shirou's Reality Marble. His Reality Marble just makes it so much easier to Trace swords. But in essence, Tracing is something that was invented by Shirou from his understanding of Projection and Structural Grasping. Him having UBW doesn't mean that he is the only one that can learn how to Trace. No matter how much you guys think that UBW and Tracing are part of the same thing.**

**I know what Tracing is. Shirou took the steps of Kyudo and incorporated them into his way of Structural Grasping. Essentially creating something more thorough, and more useful than just Structural Grasping. With enough practice with Tracing, all one needs to do is glance at an object they've been practicing with, and essentially know everything about it.**

**Now, with Shirou's Marble. He doesn't need to essentially Re-Trace swords. He doesn't even need to consciously Trace swords, his World does it for him. All he has to do is cock the metaphorical gun in his head, the ammo being the memories of the sword he wants to Trace, and just shoot it out into the World. His level of mastery over Tracing is on a whole other level. So you can be sure that even if Lorelei knows Tracing to some extent, she will never be as proficient with it as Shirou. As Shirou personally has a cheat way of using it in the first place.**

**Don't tell me that Tracing is unique to Shirou only. Anyone can learn how to Trace. They just need time to learn it, and sooner or later, they can learn to use it without much trouble.**

**Also, Avalon has absolutely nothing to do with Tracing and his Reality Marble. At all. The only thing that can be said about Avalon and Tracing is that Shirou can Trace Avalon to near perfection because it had been inside him so long he doesn't need to consciously think about the details since the details themselves has been engraved into his mind and soul.**

**And about the Jeweled sword of Zelretch and EA and even Excalibur. Shirou saw the blueprints of the jeweled sword, but he still couldn't understand it. But the moment he saw the sword itself, he was able to effortlessly re-Trace it and use it. EA and Excalibur are a different story. Both of those swords were not made by humans, but by something that Shirou cannot possibly comprehend. Excalibur was created by the Fae, beings that have different common sense then humans. The same could be said with EA. That unholy destructive sword was made by something that Shirou cannot comprehend. And thus he cannot re-Trace it. Now, if he somehow gains insight of why these swords were made in the first place. Or if he found out the logic of the beings that created these swords, then he could possibly. POSSIBLY. Recreate them.**

**Now, another thing. Just a little tidbit of information some of you guys don't seem to understand. A Faker is a title given to someone proficient in Gradation Air, otherwise known as Projection. When Gilgamesh calls Shirou and EMIYA a Faker, he refers to them as their titles. Which makes sense, since both Shirou and EMIYA project fakes.**

**And. This will be the first and last time I will explain this. Zelretch. Is. Not. All. Powerful. Sure he is powerful, sure he can do things most other magi can't even comprehend, and sure he stopped the freaking moon from falling down on the Earth. But to compare him to a metaphorically physical god in a human/vampire body? That's just wrong.**

**And again. I'm pointing out, Zelretch. Can. Die. Why the heck would he stop the moon from falling into the Earth if he can't die and just go through a portal to another dimension/world? He stopped the moon from falling because; this is what I've managed to pick up from reading Zelretch's profile, he cannot simply move to another dimension/world. His magic consists of PARALLEL worlds. Which means that all the worlds he can see, can watch, and possibly can crossover to, are similar in ways that you can barely see the difference. The only problem is, parallel worlds cannot intersect.**

**What I'm trying to say. In each dimension, there is always ONE Zelretch. And that Zelretch, whether they be the same as this Zelretch, or the other Zelretch, or is even a single cell Zelretch, are different and the same. A Zelretch from world A cannot go into world B because there is a Zelretch there already. But if Zelretch from world A dies, then knowledge of that Zelretch's death would be known by the Zelretch from world B, C, D, ETC. Now, if there is no Zelretch in world #849523898597213, then he could possibly move over there. But here's the problem. Why would he move there when all he has to do is simply stop an apocalypse from happening in the first place? Sounds rough, yes. But Zelretch has the power. But I must point out again. Zelretch. Can. Die. Let's just list down the things he can die of okay? Pierced through the heart, check. Moon falling on the earth and causing the entire earth to explode, check. Supernova caused by the sun, check. Decapitation, check. Get what I'm saying here? Zelretch is mortal. He can, and will die if he does nothing to stop the cause of his possible death from happening in the first place.**

**Can you guys get that? Zelretch is not something close to physical god. He can die. He has self-preservation instincts, he knows what can and will kill him. And the moon falling on the earth is something that will most definitely kill him.**

**Okay, enough with that. I took up way too much space. On with the show!**

**XxX**

When Shirou first met Isis, he expected someone… Older.

"I have heard great things about you." Isis spoke in a low tone, a slight Middle-Eastern accent enveloped her voice, but the mere fact that her voice was of a child's, and that she really could have been a child, made her voice sound more squeaky than menacing.

Certainly, when he thought of Isis, an Egyptian goddess of mothers, slaves, and artisans, he thought of an older woman, probably with graying hair with an almost motherly aura around her.

But the sight in front of him shattered that image quite easily.

"I'll be talking for him today." He heard his companion for the meeting speak, he turned and regarded Touko with a questioning look, darting his eye towards Isis.

Touko noticed his stare, and she couldn't help but smirk slightly before she nodded her head. Silently telling him that 'Yes, that is Isis. You got a problem with that?'

Isis hummed in thought, before she nodded her head. Her long purple pony-tail brushing past her ears and falling slightly forward. "I see no problem with that," She said as she stared at Touko. "You've been honest in your dealings with us so far Aozaki. If it was anyone else, we'd be insulted." Isis said with a smile.

Touko returned the smile before she too nodded her head. "Thank you for the compliment." She said as she smirked. Isis merely shook her head before her smile widened, accentuating her childli- no, not childlike, she _was_ a child.

"That was no compliment. It was merely me stating a fact." She said as she dropped the smile as she stared at Shirou. Prompting him to look at her directly, taking in her features as well.

Now, Shirou was no pedophile. But certainly, the girl in front of him was something if not beautiful. For a child, the very aura she carried seemed to scream 'Treat me as you equal if not your better.'

Her long purple hair that was tied in a braided pony-tail was draped over her shoulders. Her purple puffy hat with a symbol etched on the side covered the top of her head. He couldn't really make out what symbol it was, but from the place he was sitting across the table from her, he could make out it looked like a golden cross, possibly a star, with lines right below it.

Her face was that of a child, but at the same time, it looked like it was made for a young woman. There was no baby fat, and it looked like she had her puberty earlier than almost anyone else. Her purple eyes bore holes into him as she stared at him. He could sense that she was scrutinizing him, and he couldn't help but feel small.

If RIn ever heard him say that… She'd probably laugh and mock him for feeling inadequate because of a child.

Isis had a purple dress on, with a yellow tie tied around her white undershirt. That was all he could see, as he really didn't want to glance under the table just to see what she was wearing on her lower half. That would just be… wrong.

"Shirou; The Steel Magus," She began, prompting Shirou to look up and into her purple piercing eyes. "That is you, correct?" She asked him.

Shirou glanced to the right, eyeing Touko, who only sighed before she nodded her head. Shirou then returned his gaze towards Isis and nodded his head at her. "That is me, correct." He said, but scowled at the last second. "And I would appreciate if you just called me Shirou. I do not much like my title." He stated as he crossed his arms.

He heard a smack to his right, and he turned his head over towards Touko. Who had her open palm on her forehead as she shook her head in clear exasperation.

He was about to ask what was wrong, but Isis' voice stopped him from talking any further. "Your appreciation and ire for using your title will be noted." She said as she stared at him.

"Now," Isis started again, Shirou glanced over towards her, only to be met with a fierce stare. And at that instant, he knew that the conversation was about to take a turn towards the deadly serious. "I've called you here for a reason you may as well already know." She stated as she leaned forward, staring straight into Shirou's eyes.

Shirou narrowed his eyes slightly. What did she mean by that? He was called out of the blue last night as they were discussing Atlas and their interest in Aemulo. He had absolutely no basis as to what they wanted him for if not for hired muscle.

Seeing that Isis was still awaiting his answer, he stared right back at her, locking eyes with her purple eyes. "I have a vague clue as to why you've called me here." He stated. Good, that was good, it was vague and it didn't answer her question outright. If he was being called here, he needed to have a sense of control with the flow of the conversation.

So why the hell was the kid smiling?

"You're more perceptive than I give you for," She complimented him, confusing Shirou as he tilted his head to the side. A gesture that made Isis smile even more while making Touko sigh in frustration. "Then I will cut to the chase. We need you for escort duty."

That statement made Shirou sigh in relief, it looked like his hunch was right. "What kind of-"

But before he could finish his sentence, a hand on his chest stopped him from talking anymore. He looked down and followed the hand attached to an arm towards his right. Touko had placed a hand on his chest whilst glaring fiercely at him. It was obvious to anyone just what she was telling him to do. 'Shut up.'

"Oh? Is there a problem Aozaki?" Isis asked just out of his vision. He sighed before he relaxed and leaned back on his chair. He watched as Touko smiled slightly before she faced towards Isis and narrowed her eyes at her.

"Yes there is." She stated coldly as she brushed a stray lock of red hair away from her eyes. "Before we discuss what job you want him to do, we need to know how you managed to learn about him." She stated as she crossed her arms over her chest, red eyes narrowing as she stared at the child representative.

To Isis' credit however, this action only seemed to amuse her as she smiled thinly. A smile that very much did not look like it belonged on a child's face. "I assure you, we did not employ any spies to enter the Clock Tower." She stated with a small smirk.

Touko scoffed at her excuse. "We couldn't give two-cents about the Clock Tower." Touko stated as she glared at Isis. "What we want to know is how you heard of Shirou. His reputation is almost nonexistent, and his titles are only recent. News about him can't have traveled abroad already." Touko stated as she narrowed her eyes.

Isis regarded her with a blank look, before another smirk escaped her lips. "I see," Isis stated as she leaned back and placed her hands on her lap and stared at Touko, before she switched her gaze over towards Shirou. Shirou noticed that her smirk widened slightly, making him squint his eyes in anticipation. "You think that we've taken information by force. Most likely from Magi in the Clock Tower."

"That's right." Touko nodded her head, agreeing with what the child Isis stated so far. Shirou could only squint his eyes in confusion. That didn't make-

"That doesn't make sense," Isis' cold voice cut through the air, the room suddenly feeling several degrees colder as her purple eyes narrowed coldly. "You believe that we've compromised Magi from the Clock Tower and you sit there trying to accuse us of spying." She stated as she glared at Touko, who merely met her cold gaze with a blank one. "Yet you stated that you did not care about the Clock Tower, please make up your mind Aozaki, before we rescind our opinion about you." She stated coldly.

This seemed to get a reaction from Touko as she narrowed her eyes and stared back coldly at Isis. "You must understand," She began as she stared into Isis' purple eyes. "Shirou has secrets, secrets that are dangerous should they ever be found out. As such, an almost unknown faction suddenly taking attention to him is something highly suspect." She stated with narrowed eyes.

Isis raised an eyebrow at her sentence before she glanced over towards Shirou. "You have not heard of Atlas before?" She asked, clearly confused as to how someone from the Clock Tower could not possibly know about the factions that make up the Mage's association.

Shirou crossed his arms over his chest and nodded his head. "Yeah," He began with a small sigh. "I'm a first generation Magus. I was scouted by Aoko when she was with her own teacher in Japan." He finished as he stared into Isis' purple eyes.

Isis stared at him blankly before she nodded her head. "I see." She said as she turned back towards his appointed speaker. "But regardless whether or not he is a first generation magus, it doesn't brush over the fact that we still want his help." Isis stated as she stared at Touko.

Touko however, only shook her head and stared back at her. "I hardly believe this can be brushed over." Touko stated as she narrowed her eyes. "You have information, recent information, about someone relatively new in the Clock Tower. That in itself is something worth looking into, should the Clock Tower ever find out about your knowledge."

To Touko and Shirou's surprise however, Isis responded not with a cold glare, nor with a calculating look. But instead, the girl seemed genuinely confused as she tilted her head to the side and looked at the both of them as if she was missing something.

"Why would they be on alert?" She asked, as if what they were talking about before were about two different subjects all together. "Shirou is a freelancer right? We need his fighting expertise." Isis stated, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Silence soon followed. Touko had raised an eyebrow in surprise, while Shirou was only staring dumbly at Isis. Both reactions were appropriate, as Isis finally told them why they wanted Shirou.

It wasn't because of his Magic like they first thought, no. It was something much simpler than that.

"You," Touko began as she leaned forward, her right elbow resting on the table while her right hand was raised to her face to cover it. "You just want Shirou as hired muscle?" She asked to confirm.

Isis confirmed with a nod. "Yes, why?" She asked as she raised an eyebrow at Touko's reaction. "Is there something else he could possibly offer to us?" She asked.

'_Other than the fact that he could give you guys an endless supply of magical items, probably not.'_ Touko thought with a sigh.

"Let's get things straightened out here," Touko began as she reached for her packet of cigarettes in her front pocket. She was about to pull it out, before she sighed and placed it back in her pocket. As much as she wanted to light one and take a good deep whiff of it, the situation was much too serious to actually do something else but talk. "Exactly what do you know about Shirou?"

Isis raised an eyebrow, obviously surprised at the sudden question, before she straightened herself and proceeded to answer Touko's question. "That he has a mastery over Projection magic, and that he managed to defeat the Barthomeloi protégé Lorelei. The exact details are foggy to say the least, but I was told that Shirou defeated the Barthomeloi with a wind technique reminiscent to those used by the Barthomeloi higher echelons."

Her statement made Touko sigh in frustration, whilst making Shirou sigh in relief.

"Alright," Touko began as she raised her gaze towards Isis once more. "Moving on, why exactly do you want Shirou?" She asked as she straightened herself, her eyes narrowing as she stared at Isis. "There are multiple other freelancers that will gladly take a job coming directly from Atlas. What makes Shirou so special?"

At Touko's words, Isis managed a small smile before she turned her gaze over towards Shirou, who was still following the conversation, albeit slightly confused. "At first glance, nothing." Isis stated clearly, making Shirou scratch the nape of his neck awkward. "But the mere fact that a no name Magus defeated someone that was personally trained to be the next Vice-director of the Clock Tower, the supposed genius of the Barthomeloi, and the student of Miss Blue herself makes him stand out from the rest."

Shirou shifted uncomfortably in his seat. Truth be told, even though all the things Isis stated were true, he didn't feel like he warranted attention just from beating someone. Heck, he didn't even feel like he wanted to be known at all. The world of Magi was a dangerous place, where children as young as Isis, who looked like she was ten or eleven years old, were designated as an official representative of a whole association. Where people like Geneva Barthomeloi, as old as she is, had access to unholy blades that made him shiver just from the thought of them, and where people killed, just to advance research, to advance their understanding of things not meant to be understood in the first place. Yes, he didn't want to be part of a society as brutal and as dark as the Magical world.

But as much as he didn't want to be part of it, he needed to be part of it. He would never truly understand magi; aside from the fact that they people that thought research was the best thing you could contribute to society, and that people's lives were expendable should you ever use them to advance your research. But with that understanding, came the questions of whether magi truly loved their family or not, whether they cherished the lives of those around them, or even life itself. He thought Magi disregarded life and embraced death to walk with it. But he was proven wrong with that fact by Geneva and Lorelei.

Geneva was a Barthomeloi magus, and from his understanding, they strived for perfection in everything they did. Geneva was someone that abhorred imperfection so much, that she felt the need to point out his mistakes when he had Traced a bastardized version of the sword she carried and copied a technique he knew absolutely nothing about.

But even then, even if Geneva walked with death, even if she strived for perfection, even if she was a Magus. She was a grandmother first and foremost.

She hurt herself as she watched her grandchild strive for a distorted view of perfection. She watched as her granddaughter achieve perfection, and stop striving. Stop growing. It pained her to see her grandchild like that, so much so that she sought for a way to show her the errors of her ways.

It was then she found Shirou, here was someone new. Here was someone that simply spat in the face of perfection and bastardized the perfect form of something he copied. Here was a true Faker, a battle-hardened warrior, and a man that was shown the darkness of the world and fought through it. A complete antithesis to Lorelei's perfect view of the world, and her utterly stagnant way of thinking.

It was with those thoughts that Shirou finally realized why he stood out, and why he was being singled out by Atlas and why Isis was talking to him right here and right now.

"You see me as a-" He was cut off as he saw Isis smirk at him.

"Exactly." She said as she turned her gaze towards Touko. Who had her twitching fingers ready to grab the pack of cigarettes that she so wanted to pull out.

"We see Shirou as a means to end the stagnate world known as the Mage's Association." Isis stated as she leaned forward and placed her arms on the table. Her hands reaching up to interlock right below her chin as she stared at both Shirou and Touko. "We see him as a revolutionist."

Touko clicked her tongue as she stared at Isis. That wasn't what she was expecting, not in the least.

"Please explain." Touko insisted as she stared at Isis. Who only responded with a mysterious smile.

"You see, we know about your student Shirou." Isis stated as she glanced over towards Shirou, who visibly stiffened as he heard those words. "We also know Lady Geneva herself sees you as somebody that will change the Barthomeloi prodigy's stagnant way of thinking." She continued as she leaned back, her purple eyes locking with Shirou's golden ones.

"How could you possibly know that?" This time, it was Shirou who spoke up, his eyes narrowing dangerously as he stared at Isis. When Geneva and Lorelei had that talk, he was in that room, but there was no one else remotely close to it other than-!

"The Doctor." Shirou stated as he stared wide-eyed at Isis. She allowed her smile to widen as she nodded, confirming Shirou's statement.

Touko had watched the whole exchange with an increasing headache, her need to grab her cigarette and light one increasing as she did so. But with that last confirmation, she couldn't hold back anymore.

"With that said," Touko began as she grabbed her pack of cigarettes and took one stick from it. She lighted it with her lighter before she placed the pack back in her front pocket. She stared at the ignited cigarette, before shrugging and placing it in between her lips and taking a deep whiff. "Let's continue on. Who or what exactly do you need escorted?" Touko asked as she exhaled, a plum of transparent smoke escaping from her lips as she did so.

At her question, Isis smiled. Her smile sent shivers down Shirou's spine, while making Touko narrow her eyes. "We need you to escort the Dead Apostle Aemulo." She stated in a clear cut voice.

**Fate: Zero/Night**

**XxX**

"That is the singularly most retarded thing I have ever heard." Aoko's irritated voice resounded across her workshop/classroom. Her annoyed tone was accompanied by her annoyed look as well as her impatient tapping of her foot.

Shirou was about to answer, but Aoko's sister, the red-haired Touko Aozaki had answered for him. "Believe me, that is exactly what we thought when we heard it from her mouth." She said as she took another deep whiff of her cigarette.

Aoko narrowed her eyes before she pointed an accusing finger towards her sister. "And you," She began as she glared at Touko. "What are you still doing here? You job's done, there's absolutely no reason for you to be here." She pointed out, her tone gaining a slight edge to it.

Shirou was about to scold Aoko, but once again, Touko beat him to the punch. "I didn't let myself in you know." She began as she relaxed onto the table she was currently sitting on. She sat cross-legged with one arm on top of her knee as it held onto her cigarette, her other arm supporting her as she leaned back. "This isn't just your workshop; I was invited in here by your student." Touko removed the arm on her knee as she used her cigarette to point at Shirou, who could only sigh as he felt the incoming fight come closer.

Before Aoko could reply, and before Shirou's prediction about a spat could come true however, another voice spoke up. This one more regal as the owner of the voice leaned against the wooden desk that spanned across the room. Her white one-sleeved coat contrasting the brown of the desk she was leaning on. "Don't fight," Her voice was cold, and it left no room for arguing. Clearly this person knew how to handle situations that called for leadership. "We need to re-gather our information now that this hunt has taken a turn towards the surprising."

Aoko scowled, but conceded to Lorelei's reasoning as she relaxed onto her chair once more. Likewise, Touko once more allowed her free arm to support her as she took another whiff of her ignited cigarette.

"Lorelei's right," This time, Shirou spoke up. Garnering all the women's attention as they all turned toward him. He turned an eye towards Lorelei, his eyes glancing for the briefest of seconds on her sleeveless arm; he caught a glimpse of the red ribbon tied onto it, before he returned his gaze up towards Lorelei's chocolate brown eyes. "We need to think about this again. We had information that Atlas wanted to come into this hunt. But the exact reason wasn't specified. We only assumed that they wanted Aemulo dead, or captured." Shirou stated as he crossed his arms over his chest and raised an eyebrow. Quietly asking Lorelei if he got it right.

And much to Shirou's credit, she did respond with a curt nod. "We did not assume." She began as she pushed herself from the desk she was leaning on. She locked eyes with Shirou, before her eyes darted towards Aoko and Touko. "We believed that reason, and we planned to move with it. We did not have enough information, and we believed in something that had no basis on being right in the first place." Lorelei stated, her tone low and quiet. As if she found it hard to actually admit to that.

From behind where Shirou was standing in the middle of the three, he heard Aoko whistle. He turned his head so that he could catch a glimpse of his brown-haired teacher, who had a look of astonishment mixed with disbelief in her face. "Never thought I'd ever hear you say anything like that Lorelei." She stated, and Shirou couldn't help but agree with her.

Shirou turned towards Lorelei, but to his surprise, instead of looking away in embarrassment, or even rebuking Aoko for her blunt comment. She instead looked forward, her gaze hard as she stared past him and over towards Aoko. "If this was a week before, I would have surely rebuked you and admonished your words." Lorelei stated before she took a deep breath, almost sounding like a sigh. She then looked up, locking eyes with Shirou for a brief few seconds, before she turned away from him and over towards Aoko. "But not now. I've learned my lesson. Perfection isn't achieved in the present, it is achieved through the mistakes you make as you move towards the future." She stated with a fire in her eyes that reminded Shirou of himself, when he had resolved to fight not only himself, but also his very belief.

It had been hard, to fight against himself as he, his future-self, had systematically pointed out the flaws in his belief and tore down the foundations of everything he believed in. But in the end, he knew what he had to do, to continue being himself, he needed his misguided belief. He needed to continue on, because that was all he had left. He was given life, and he would be damned if he would let himself squander it.

He fought against himself, and in the end found himself as he looked towards the future, a future where, he would become something that his father would be proud of, where he would be proud of himself for all that he had done. A future where he would continue on, without looking back, without regretting, that was his ideal, and that was what he was striving to achieve even now.

Shirou glanced towards Lorelei once more, and found someone who understood the hardship of fighting with oneself, fighting against your own belief, to achieve something that you've had engraved into your very being.

And, as he stared at Lorelei, he couldn't help but think of how similar their situations are. He couldn't stop the small smiling forming on his face as he stared at his student.

Lorelei noticed his smile, and she leveled a glare at him. "What are you smiling at?" She asked as she stared at Shirou, her eyes narrowed and were glinting dangerously.

Shirou shook his head, before he looked away from Lorelei. A blush forming on his face. "It's nothing." He evaded as he turned towards Touko, who had been watching the entire exchange with a small smirk on her lips.

"Oh?" Touko began, her tone teasing. "You were staring quite passionately at Lorelei just a few seconds ago. Why are you suddenly evading Lorelei and her question?" Touko teased as she took another whiff of her cigarette, her lips curving upwards to show everyone that she was indeed smirking.

"I- uhm- uhh." Shirou looked at Touko, and then at Lorelei, before he turned towards Aoko. His mind racing as he tried to think of something to say.

Aoko watched Shirou panic with a frown on her face. But before she could berate Shirou for annoying her, Lorelei had spoken up. Her words irking her even further.

"It's fine," Lorelei began as she looked away from Shirou. Shirou stopped panicking before he turned his gaze back towards the brunette in a ponytail, a confused look on his face as he tilted his head to the side. Lorelei saw this movement before she locked eyes with Shirou again. "I said its fine." She repeated as she stared at Shirou. Who could only look back at her with wide-eyes filled with disbelief.

Lorelei stared at Shirou for a few more seconds, before she sighed and looked away. "But at any rate," She continued, her tone returning towards the serious one she had used just mere moments ago. "This is hardly the time to be spacing out. We need to focus on the problem at hand." She returned her gaze towards Shirou, her gaze still hard, but it held a certain softness in them that made Shirou relax slightly.

Aoko watched the two exchange glances, before she coughed. Roughly. Everyone's attention turned towards her, and everyone saw the scowl on her face. "Right now, we need information before anything else." She pointed out, choosing to ignore the previous happening in favor of the problem at hand. She would have words with Shirou later, but right now. There was a bigger problem they needed to solve. "If anything, Atlas has made their interest in Aemulo certain. Now all we need to know are the whys." Aoko stated as she re-gathered her bearings and stared at Shirou and then at Lorelei. She pointedly ignored the eyesore that was her sister.

"As loath as I am to admit it, my sister is right." Touko stated, and though she didn't miss the pointed ignoring of her sister, she wouldn't let it get in the way of the job that she was now part of. "Atlas won't just be asking for our help out of their own volition. If anything, it's most likely it is Aemulo himself asking for Atlas for the escort. Which would be strange, as he himself is being hunted down by the Church and the Mage's Association." Touko stated as she took one final whiff of her cigarette, before she proceeded to flick the now burnt out butt into the air. The butt did a multitude of spins, before it landed on the ground, whatever left over ash it had spreading on the wooden floor.

Aoko saw the entire thing, and couldn't help but click her tongue in annoyance. But before she could berate Touko, she took a deep breath, before she sighed and slumped back into her seat. Seemingly giving up on scolding her sister.

"I agree completely," This time, Lorelei spoke up once more. Her tone once more serious and lacking the previous… warmth? That Shirou had felt before. "Aemulo would be the one to ask for help, and not Atlas. If it were up to Atlas, they would rather join the hunt and take Aemulo's soul and all his research. But for Aemulo to ask for help from Atlas can either mean that he has a plan to escape his pursuers using Atlas as a scapegoat, or…" Lorelei narrowed her eyes as she trailed. Shirou raised an eyebrow at her sudden change of demeanor.

"Or?" He asked tentatively. Lorelei regarded with a shadowed look, before she clicked her tongue, seemingly in frustration.

"Or that he has offered Atlas his services in exchange for his safety." Lorelei finished. This further confused Shirou, but made Touko visibly shift from her seat, and made Aoko stand up abruptly in surprise, judging from the sudden scraping of a chair from behind him.

"I don't get it." Shirou voiced his confusion, unsure of how exactly that answer would garner such a solid reaction from the women around him.

And to Shirou's embarrassment, he saw the women around him giving varying looks of disbelief. From Touko, who sighed before shaking her head in disappointment. To Aoko, who slumped down on her chair as she let out a deep breath, and to Lorelei, who raised her hand and began to rub her temples with her fingers.

"What?!" Shirou exclaimed indignantly. The way they were reacting, it made him look like he was stupid or something.

"I take back what I said before," Touko spoke up and Shirou turned towards her. He was met with the disappointed look of Touko, who had taken out another cigarette and was in the process of lighting it. "It's clear that my sister isn't teaching you anything. If your lack of common sense is any indication."

Shirou sputtered indignantly, but before he could respond in kind. Aoko spoke up from behind him. "Don't blame me for his lack of common sense." She began in a tired tone, making Shirou look at her with wide eyes in disbelief. She wasn't really saying that- "I've been dealing with this guy for a total of four days. Five months if you take the time I gave him to learn English. But he just can't seem to grasp the concept of mage's and magic in general."

-That was a yes. She was actually agreeing with her sister, and although it wasn't exactly said. Shirou could sense that the two sisters were thinking the same thing. And that thing, as loath as he was to think about it, was probably 'Shirou's an idiot.'

"Though he has his moments of great insight," Come on! Not you too Lorelei! Shirou could only slump in defeat as he turned around, only to be met with Lorelei's scowling face. "I must admit, having a teacher as dimwitted as this one grates on my nerves sometimes." She stated with a sigh. "His mind in combat might be extraordinary. But his commonsense seems to be severely lacking in general."

Shirou threw his hands in the air. "I get it! I'm stupid, now if you can just tell me what I'm missing!" He shouted as he slumped whilst standing. Garnering amused smiles from the three women around him.

"We never said you were stupid Shirou," Aoko said, her tone warm and almost affectionate. But it was overshadowed by her snickering. "We just meant that you're really slow when you don't mean to be." Aoko stated, making Shirou scowl in frustration.

"Anyway!" He grumbled as he crossed his arms over his chest. "What am I missing here?" He asked, trying to subvert anymore attempts to pick on him.

It was Touko who answered him, her newly lighted cigarette now halfway done. "Use your head Shirou," She said in a clearly un-amused tone. "If you were being chased for your research, but you ask for help from the most likely person to hunt you down. What does that tell you?" She asked, her red-eyes that hid behind her glasses stared harshly at him. And he couldn't stop himself from wincing slightly.

"Uhm," He began, trying to formulate any kind of answer coming from that piece of information. But after a few seconds of humming in thought, he shook his head. "Yeah, I got nothing." He stated as he rubbed the back of his sheepishly.

"It means that he has completed his research already." Lorelei cut in, her tone clearly saying that they didn't have time for this and that they should really get a move on. "Why would Atlas, an association known for its business and its passive research, take part in a hunt that would expend its resources when they can just get the one being hunted under their umbrella?"

That was a rhetorical question, and thankfully, Shirou did not answer it. But it did leave a question to be answered in the first place. "Then why would Atlas even- Oh." A sudden thought came from his head. And he couldn't help but sigh in frustration.

"What?" It was Aoko who voiced the question all three women had on their minds. Shirou regarded her with a look, before he shook his head in exasperation.

"Atlas stated that they see me as a way to revolutionize the magic world." He stated, but was only met with blank stares from all three women. After all, they had discussed the words Shirou and Touko had exchanged with Atlas the previous night.

"Yeah, so?" Aoko raised an eyebrow. "What does that have to do with Atlas and Aemulo?"

"That means that," Shirou sighed as he placed a hand on his forehead. Clearly annoyed. "Atlas wants Aemulo, but they also want me. I think they want me to-"

"To figure out how Aemulo does his magic." It was Lorelei who finished for him, her eyes wide as she stared at him.

Shirou could only nod his head, the grim situation making itself aware. "Yeah." He said as he stared at Lorelei. "That means that they were lying before. They know more about me then they should. And they're trying to twist the situation in their favor." He finished with a grim frown.

"Well," Touko began, Shirou could hear her inhale sharply. Most likely with the cigarette in her mouth as well. "This complicates things."

"Forget complicating." Aoko hissed as she clicked her teeth. "This is only obscures what we already know about Atlas. We're two to three steps behind them right now." Aoko stated as she bit her thumb in frustration.

Shirou regarded his teacher with a glance, observing that she was raking her brain for an answer. He then turned towards Touko, who too had a grim face masked in calmness. And finally, he turned to his student, observing that she had her own annoyed and frustrated face.

He watched as all three women raked their brains for answers they obviously didn't have and couldn't answer right now. He observed them all, before he let out a deep sigh. Garnering all their attentions.

"Alright," He began as he looked at all three of them, first Aoko, then Touko, and then Lorelei. His gaze hard as he thought of a course of action. "We need more information. We can't just go in blindly without knowing what exactly we're dealing with now, can we?"

He watched as all three women nodded their heads, waiting for him to continue. "Then we should look for someone that does." As he finished that sentence, he turned towards Aoko, and to his surprise, it was to find that she had her eyes wide in surprise.

He didn't smirk, no. What he was about to suggest wasn't something worth being confident over. If anything, this was just one big bluff that would either pay off handsomely, or leave them naked on a curb outside.

He breathed in, before he let out his breath like a sigh. He began to think of Rin, and allowed some part of her personality to channel though him. "We'll accept the job." He said with a grim smile.

The response was almost immediate. All three women looked at him incredulously, but he kept his gaze on the one that he needed to agree with him the most. He kept his gaze on Aoko, her red eyes wide in disbelief as she stared at him.

"That's outrageous!" He heard from Touko, but he did not care.

"Are you an idiot?" That was from Lorelei, Her tone clearly suggesting that yes, he was an idiot.

But he didn't care nor did he allow the two to stop him.

What he did, was stare at his teacher. He stared at Aoko, and watched her as she stared back at him. Her eyes were telling him that she agreed with the two. But she knew him better than the other two. She knew about his situation. And she knew who he was.

Maybe it was a stupid reason. The future didn't really affect this stupid move, but then again. He needed confirmation; he needed someone he could completely trust to tell him that what he was going to do was okay.

He needed Rin.

But she wasn't here right now. No, the only ones here were the three women around him. And that would be enough. All he needed from Aoko was a nod, anything to tell him it was okay to go through with his plan.

Shirou watched as Aoko stared at him, her eyes showing her mixed emotions. It shifted from confused, to disbelief, to resigning.

"You know what you're doing Shirou?" She asked him, she ignored the pointed looks her sister and Lorelei were giving her and focused on her student. She needed to know, she wanted to know. Everything else came second right now.

She watched him, and he watched her. He stared at her, and nodded his head. He had done this before. Bluff. All he needed was Aoko to tell him it was okay to go through with it.

He nodded at her. "Yeah," He began, tentatively licking his lips as he felt them dry from his nervousness. "I've done this before." He told her. And she immediately understood.

She understood. But she still didn't want this.

Maybe that was the reason she told him what she did next, or maybe she just couldn't find a reason to continue this, not when they'll be digging deeper into something that they obviously didn't want to be in. Or maybe she just didn't trust Shirou as much as he did her. But nonetheless, she knew her answer would cause friction with her student.

"No," She said as she looked away from Shirou. She could just imagine the disbelief on his face as she said so. "We're dropping this case. Causing needless friction with Atlas would just bite us in the ass in the long run."

Her tone suggested that there was no more discussing this matter, that this was to be dropped this very instant.

But to Shirou, her words might as well have gone against everything he stood for.

**XxX**

**Right, this arc is drawing to a close soon. Probably in the next two or three chapters this will end.**

**And to those that will say that it sounded half-assed, the twist I mean. Don't. I've planned this arc since the beginning. I know just where it'll end, and just what'll happen. If you guys want to know, well, wait until the next chapter. In hopefully a shorter time span.**

**We'll be seeing Shirou's UBW side bite him in the ass soon enough. He is reckless. But he tries to be a superhero. Trying to save everyone. But then, how can he possibly save anyone from Aemulo should they drop the case entirely?**

**Aemulo's research is going to play a big part with Shirou. So is Maiya. Come the next two or three chapters, this arc will end in hopefully, a pretty well done end.**

**Anyway. I've drawn out the character's long enough. Some of you are getting impatient, and I apologize for that. But keep in mind, some of my readers have no idea who Aoko and Lorelei are, even Touko. I need to draw out the characters to give a sense of depth to them.**

**And to those who properly guessed the identity of who exactly Isis was. Good job. You played the game. She was said to have begun her job as a representative at a young age. It wasn't stated what age though. So I went out of a limb here and made her close to eight years old. Making her twenty when the game's timeline happens.**

**And the game is Melty blood for those who don't know what I'm talking about.**

**Anyway. I apologize for the rant up top. But honestly, I needed to clear that up. You guys seem to correlate Shirou's Tracing with his UBW and Avalon. And honestly, that is wrong.**

**Anywa.y That's all I got to say. So R and R people. Let's get to 300? Reviews with this chapter! Hey! I can dream can't I?**

**C.O.Y.L out, peace!**


	14. I am Distorted

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

**People seem to think I'm a coward for trying to censor my readers thoughts and feelings about Shirou, Zelretch, and Tracing. The fact of the matter is people. I'm not doing this for me. I'm doing this for you.**

**The moment you made an account, you accepted terms and conditions for this website. Terms and conditions, that people just brush over and just accept. Well people, let me just summarize one part of it for you. This is for reviews.**

**When you are reviewing, you are expected to comment about the chapter's story. And not the author's note exclusively. People ignored this, and commented about my rant, and did not give any output on my written chapter. Now, the punishment for this is not a slap to the wrist. But I believe it to be the abolishment of your account. I don't quite remember. I will read up on the details once again when I have the time.**

**But anyway, when you review. Make sure it is worthwhile to the story and not just a way to state your opinions that have no direct influence to the story itself. If you want to start a debate with the author about your views, feel free to do so at the appropriate place. In private messages and not reviews. A writer appreciates reviews, me more so than others. But when I click on the reviews sections, and all I see are people stating their opinions about this and that, without mentioning the written chapter at all. Well, you can just imagine how hollow that would make a writer feel.**

**Anyway, this will be cut short. TL;DR: Review about the story and not the author's views. That's what PM's are for. And if I sounded like a douche, then I apologize. But I didn't mean it in a hostile way at all. I just want people to focus on the story rather than my views.**

**XxX**

Shirou let a sigh escape his lips as he tinkered with the wrist watch that was given to him by his teacher.

Shirou let out a groan as his thoughts went back to his teacher, or rather, the way her teacher shot him down. He slumped down, and though the way that people sneered and jeered at him as he did so was condemning, he just didn't care.

It had been a day and a half since their little talk about Isis and Atlas as well as the job offered by said parties. A day and a half since they told Isis no, they wouldn't be doing the job. And a total of five and a half days since he had been in this timeline.

Truthfully, he was surprised he was even able to adapt to his abnormal situation so readily. Time traveling twelve years into the past was something that would be considered abnormal, even to most magi. But surprisingly, he had assimilated to his situation quite well.

Maybe it was because of the five months of English class he had spent with Aoko? Or maybe it was because the threat on the world itself made him assimilate out of need? Either way, he was still surprised.

Shirou heard the whispers around him, but he paid them no mind. He tried to refocus on the task given to him by his auburn haired teacher. And, much as he hated to admit it. He needed this distraction. Lest he do something that Rin would most likely deem as 'reckless and stupid.'

He stared at the small wrist watch given to him, and closed his eyes as he muttered the two words that were comforting as it was the only thing remaining constant in his life. "Trace On."

The wrist watch itself wasn't much, it was made of stainless steel, the gears were working just fine, and the only thing wrong with it was the constant grinding of two gears that were placed just above each other. Sooner than later, those two gears would wear each other down and cause the clock to stop working altogether.

That was it for the mundane parts of the clock, but the magical side of it however…

"I feel that it's trying to invade the outside… I think?" He muttered under his breath as he allowed the blueprint of the small wrist watch imprint into his mind. It's essence basically making it a bastardized 'fast-forwarder'.

The power of the watch itself wasn't anything that would make your eyes pop. It was only strong enough to actually make your reaction time faster after all. But even then, it only improved it by a mere 0.0753%. Not enough to actually turn the outcome of a fight between mages.

Shirou allowed himself to smile grimly however as he placed the screwdriver he was holding onto the screw that held the back plate connected to the main body.

To most, this wrist watch's effect wasn't something they could see or even feel. But to someone that could actually stand against beings known as Servants. This might as well have been a godsend.

This slight edge might just be what he would need should he ever face something faster and possibly stronger than him. And though the effect was quite meager, given how fast he could already react, being able to Trace and fire the same amount of weapons the King of Heroes threw at him, being able to go toe to toe with a high-class Servant right after, the meager effect might very well save his life.

As he unscrewed the last bolt, he allowed the back plate to fall on the table that he was sitting in front of. Thankfully, he was far into the corner of the room, the cafeteria, that only the occasional glance from the students that occupied the Clock Tower itself was heard from time to time. No one paid him any mind.

That was okay with him; the less people saw him and noticed him, the better. He didn't want someone to offer him a job that he wanted to do, but still get shot do-

He squashed the thoughts with a grunt that resembled a sigh. Damn it! Aemulo was doing research that was killing people, innocent people. And he was just asked to stand by and watch as he was given sanctuary?

The thought was infuriating for him, but there was nothing he could do about it. He couldn't rightly challenge Aoko and her decision, and even if he did. Lorelei would just back up Aoko, telling him that she was right. And, like rubbing salt to an open wound, even Touko, Aoko's sister, the one she hated for reasons unknown, a sentiment shared by Touko herself, agreed with her.

You know there's no arguing something when even bitter enemies that hated each other agreed to something.

He suppressed the thoughts of actually going behind Aoko's back and doing the job as he focused on the wrist watch once more.

"Let's see…" He muttered as he squinted his eyes, trying to pinpoint the exact part he needed to tinker with to actually improve the clock's overall effectiveness. "That part should be right about… Here!" He gently let his screwdriver brush over the gear that he needed to remove and polish before he stuck the screwdriver to the side of the gear and raised it slightly, just enough to let him pick up the now loose gear with his left pointer and index finger.

Carefully placing the gear in between his fingers on the wooden cafeteria table, he returned his gaze towards the open wrist watch itself. Sighing to himself as he re-Traced it and finding nothing out of place, he turned towards the removed gear and, after placing it back in between his fingers, carefully inspected it.

"Heh," He muttered as he stared at the little gear in amazement. "To think that this small piece of metal actually holds that much power." He was referring to the prana that was hidden inside it.

Of course he knew what he was doing; he had Traced the wrist watch after all. He knew the ins and outs of it, and this particular gear was actually the prana battery of the magical properties of the wrist watch itself.

He wasn't surprised when the prana inside the gear begin to emanate an aura reminiscent of his teacher's. It was made by her after all.

"Right, let's try this…" He muttered as he placed a hand over the gear, covering it completely. He then closed his eyes and began to channel his od out and into the gear. The reason for doing it like this and not sending his od directly into the gear itself was for the simple fact that if he did try it, he would most likely meet pain and rejection from the gear itself.

His teacher's prana was something else. It wasn't normal, it wasn't like his, and it wasn't like Rin's. It was… more controlled, more efficient. It was, for lack of a better word, perfect, to a fault.

It was so efficient that there really was no need to actually improve something that she herself infused with her own prana. The gear itself, though small and the practicality of using it as a prana battery would be slim to none, was giving the small wrist watch enough power to actually accelerate the user's body enough that it might save their lives if it came down to the milliseconds.

If he tried to override Aoko's prana in this gear with his own, not only would the gear break, it would also cause the prana of his teacher to escape into the air and turn into mana. Which, because the gear itself held enough prana to actually rival one of Shirou's own bastardized circuits, was a dangerous thing.

And though he knew the history of the wrist watch and every part of it, including the gear, he had absolutely no idea how Aoko could possibly fit that much prana into this tiny gear.

He returned his focus to his escaping od, feeling it partially turn into mana, before he allowed the od that he could still control to enter the small gear. He could feel it cracking, but he didn't stop. He needed to stop at the right time or else…

You know, now that I think about it, Aoko never really explained her magic to me all that wel-

CRACK!

A sharp sound reverberated through the area and the small gear exploded into a thousand tiny pieces of metal. Some lodging themselves onto Shirou's fingers and hands, and some embedding themselves on the table.

"Youch!" Shirou shouted in alarm as he moved his hands away and started to shake it frantically. Well, that hurt like a bitch.

Taking a look at his handiwork, he couldn't help but sigh as he stared at the partially marred table and more marred hands. Thankfully, his fingers and hands were okay, but still, the stinging he could feel was far from comfortable.

"Having trouble?" A voice from beside his ear suddenly alerted him of a presence, and all he could do was jump from surprise.

"Wha-!?" He turned his head, only to be met with the smiling face of Geneva Barthomeloi. Her slightly wrinkled face showing a smile as she stared down at him. Shirou eyed her for a few seconds, before he allowed his eyes to close and he let out a sigh. Quietly taking note that Geneva didn't have her previous sword on her person.

"Sorry," He heard the old woman say. Though her tone was more amused than apologetic. "I didn't mean to startle you." She said as she moved towards the empty chair that sat from across Shirou.

Shirou raised an eyebrow at that. It wasn't that he minded the company, nor was it that he minded Geneva being here with him right now. But he could really use some time alone. To think, and possibly think of something else than booking a plane for Rome and tracking down Aemulo on foot from there.

He opened his mouth to ask the old Barthomeloi what she wanted, but was stopped Geneva beating him to the punch. "I'm surprised."

He looked up at her, surprised and confusion evident on his face. Geneva saw his look, and she couldn't help but smile slightly. "Lorelei has said nothing but praises about you." She stated, making Shirou look at her in even further confusion.

It was confusing, because Lorelei wasn't someone that complimented anyone. During the last few days that he got to actually know his student, she wasn't one to actually go out of her way to compliment anyone. Heck, even when they had talked about Geneva, her own grandmother, she had said that she was growing old and senile.

Not that Lorelei was saying that as an insult. She was only speaking the truth; Shirou found that however Lorelei was, her brash and straight personality was attributed towards her inability to tell anything but the truth. No matter how harsh it was.

"Lorelei isn't one to lie," Geneva confirmed his thoughts as he looked up at her. Staring into her dull green eyes. Strange, Lorelei had chocolate brown eyes, were her parents perhaps both brown eyed? "She was taught to speak the truth at all times. No matter the circumstance."

"Is there a reason you're telling me this?" He asked her, and Geneva could only let out a slight chuckle.

"Of course," She said with a smile as her chuckles died down. She then leveled her eyes to stare directly at Shirou's, and he had to fight the urge to flinch. The transition from entertained to somber was something he had never experienced from anyone as of yet. It was obvious that Geneva herself was someone that held her emotions by her sleeve. "I'm not one for light conversation. I'm a Magus, I always want something from anyone I talk to." She stated without pause.

This time, it really did make Shirou cringe. Right, I forgot. As much of a good grandmother Geneva really is, she's still a Magus. And she's still mad about me bastardizing her family technique.

He took a deep breath before he looked up at her once more. "Then what is it you want? I'm rather busy if you can-"

"The Apostle hunt." Her words were clear, and Shirou stopped breathing for a split second as the words registered into his mind.

Don't tell me she knows about Atl-

"I can see on your face," She said with a disappointed sigh. "You should really learn how to separate your emotions when you're in here Shirou." She warned as she gained a dangerous glint in her eyes. "It might very well save your life." She warned him.

Shirou finally managed to regain his ability to breath as he looked down sheepishly. Yeah, Rin had mentioned something like that befor-

Damn it, Rin again.

He let out a sigh as he thought of that woman, that amazing woman that stuck through with him and fought beside him. And at this moment, he really wished he could hear her voice again, whether to berate him or actually tell him that what he had thought of was a good idea.

Unlike his teacher.

He sighed again, great. Comparing Aoko to Rin again simply because one trusted him without question, while the other didn't trust him as much. Why was it so hard to keep his mind clear? Argh…

Seeing him sigh two times and slump his head after the second one, Geneva couldn't help but raise an eyebrow in confusion.

"It seems that I have caught you at a bad time." She commented offhandedly as she stared at Shirou with raised eyebrows. Shirou looked up as he heard her say that, and he could only shake his head.

"It's not that you caught me at a bad time…" His voice trailed, before he shook his head and looked down. "Actually, you really did catch me at a bad time." He said lamely as he sighed.

"Stop sighing." Geneva snapped at him, surprising him by the firmness in her voice. "It's insulting and irritating, especially to those that you are talking to."

Shirou cringed slightly, before he allowed himself to slump in defeat. He would have sighed, but well, you know.

"Sorry," He apologized as he made sure to look up and make eye contact. "I just have a lot on my mind." He explained.

Geneva looked at him with a mysterious expression, before she spoke up once more. "I've heard about Atlas." She admitted, causing Shirou to nearly fall from his seat in surprise.

"Wha-?" Was his eloquent response as he stared at her rather dumbly. Unable to convey his surprise in words. Well, solid words.

Geneva allowed herself to smirk, before she stared back at Shirou. "Like I had said, Lorelei is someone that does not lie."

"How does that explain why you know about Atlas?" Shirou retorted as he looked at her with narrowed eyes. Though he held no aggression in his eyes, he was still rather cautious as Geneva was the Vice-Director of the Clock Tower. Should she ever suspect that he was a spy for Atlas, he couldn't exactly imagine himself surviving a fight with this woman. No matter how old she was.

That, and the fact that his Traced sword that belonged to Geneva herself held memories that even now, made him shiver in fear and disgust.

Yeah, he would die. An arrogant golden king was one thing, a serious Vice-Director that allowed nothing but perfection was another.

"Quite simple really," Geneva responded to his previous question, and he snapped out his thoughts once more. He looked up at her expectantly, waiting for her continued response. "I had asked her why she looked troubled."

A pause, and then a few blinks from Shirou.

Finally, after a few more seconds of silence, he finally managed a reply. Mirroring his previous response. "Wha-?"

Geneva allowed herself to chuckle, before she looked at Shirou. Mirth and delight seemed to make her dull green eyes shine slightly. He didn't know why, but the slight shine made him see the rather old woman as someone relatively normal.

"Last night, after I had just finished my day's reports screening. I had stumbled upon a rather pensive Lorelei walking towards her room here in the Clock Tower." Geneva explained as she stared at Shirou with unhidden enjoyment in her eyes.

"I had approached her and offered her tea and a talk in my office," Geneva explained further. "and imagine my surprise, when I had asked her what had her in such a brooding state, she simply stated that, and I quote," Geneva paused as she straightened herself slightly, before she stared at Shirou with a glint in her eyes. A glint that made Shirou uncomfortable. "'I'm worried about Shirou'."

With those words, Shirou couldn't help but raise his eyebrows in surprise. Seeing his surprise, Geneva couldn't help but chuckle.

"Yes," She said as she stared at Shirou. "That is exactly my reaction as well when she said it to me," A pause, before Geneva shook her head. "Let me rephrase that. She didn't say that to me directly, but it was rather an offhanded comment made under her breath that I wasn't supposed to hear."

Shirou didn't know how to react to that, he wasn't even sure if he heard her right. Did Lorelei, the rather distant student of his, actually say that she was worried about him? No, there must have been some mistake. Geneva must've heard wrong. Maybe what she heard and what Lorelei said were two different things.

"I assure you," Geneva interrupted his train of thoughts again as he looked up at Geneva once more. "I didn't mishear, nor am I making this up. She legitimately muttered those exact words."

…

…

…

"Well, damn." Were the only words that Shirou could really say. He didn't exactly know what to say about that, and he most certainly didn't know how to react to it.

Geneva finally narrowed her eyes, all traces of her previous entertainment disappearing as she stared at Shirou. "Listen well Shirou." She began, her words warning as Shirou couldn't help but swallow nervously. "Lorelei is not someone who worries about other people. She is coldly pragmatic, and she never wavers in her path if she thinks she is right." Geneva closed her eyes as she took a deep breath, before she re-opened them and locked her green eyes with Shirou's golden ones. "So for her to actually worry about someone else, it is either a telling sign that the person she is worried about is someone she considers a friend and an equal, and for her to worry about said person could only mean that she knows that that person will do something so incredibly stupid, that she would have no choice but to stop them, or join them." Geneva explained, making Shirou sigh in resignation.

Yeah, that… That sounded like Lorelei. She wasn't one to worry about anything if she knew she was right. And if she was proven wrong, she would take that in stride, and never look back...

Come to think of it, that was exactly like him. Wait a minute…

He looked up at Geneva, and was met with her smirk. He couldn't resist but sigh in resignation. This grandmother knew too much about Lorelei it was scary.

"I see you know what exactly I'm getting at." Geneva commented as she looked staright at him. "Lorelei, she isn't one to worry about someone that was unlike her, she isn't one to place her trust in someone, she only trusts herself and believes in herself. Yet, at the same time, she doesn't worry about herself at all. She would meet any problem head on, and she would do everything in her power to squash that problem in the most efficient and perfect way that she could." Geneva continued, before she narrowed her eyes at Shirou. Who met her eyes with his own. "And most of all, she never wavers. Unless of course, someone actually talks some sense into her, she sounds familiar to you doesn't she?"

Of course, how the hell would he not see her as someone familiar? Lorelei was someone that would keep walking down her path, without regrets, and without falter. And would only stop if they were guided to another direction, or if they were stopped outright by someone close to them.

Lorelei was just like him.

Yet…

"She sounds like someone I know," Shirou commented as he closed his eyes and nodded his head. This comment made Geneva smile a little, though it was hidden from Shirou. But before Geneva could comment, Shirou continued. "But we're not the same."

This stopped Geneva in her tracks, unable to formulate a sentence at the sudden abruptness of the statement. Of course they were the same! They were both hard headed, and they we-

"Lorelei is better than me." That halted all thoughts as Geneva looked at him in confusion. Shirou for his part, could only smile sardonically. Though Geneva knew that it was not directed at her, but rather, at Shirou himself.

"She is someone that acts on reason and logic," Shirou commented as his eyes seemed to brighten slightly. This act wasn't missed by Geneva, and she could tell. All previous worries had been erased from Shirou.

"And I-" He hesitated, before he allowed steel to enter his mind and body. He felt his heart beat fire as his fervor was re-ignited. I am the bone of my Sword. "I'm someone that acts on what he thinks is right."

With that statement, he stood, leaving behind the still disassembled wrist watch and a deep in thought Geneva.

**Fate: Zero/Night**

**XxX**

"Yes, he is currently preparing to leave his castle." Maiya relayed into the phone, her tone suggested that she was talking to someone that she deeply respected, either as a business partner, or someone she idolizes.

"….. ….? …. …. …. …."

"I do not know. He has not mentioned where exactly he is heading. I only know that Atlas will meet with him when we reach our destination and they would relieve us of escort duty." Maiya responded to the person on the other line. She took the time as she was speaking to take another look at her surroundings, not because she hadn't. But because she was paranoid.

And in her line of work, paranoia was a good thing.

She eyed her 'partner' for this job, and she couldn't help but shake her head in disappointment. There, sitting by the corner with a blank look on her face, was the homunculus known only as Riza.

Riza looked like any typical Einzbern homunculus, white hair that shined silver in the light, red eyes that stared into your soul, and a lithe pale body that was covered by more white. Though, for this job, she was dressed more for combat and movement. She wore tight white pants that accentuated her long legs, and her feet were bare. Her white shirt had no sleeves, and over the shirt itself was chain mail that protected her arms and torso. Her long pale hair fell towards her shoulder, tied to a ponytail to make sure it didn't disturb her from any fighting that she might be doing.

It was a great upgrade then when she was shown to Maiya for the first time. If Riza had actually came here in a long white dress with a white headdress, not only would she slow her down, but it could potentially hinder her fighting ability should they ever get into a fight.

"…., … …, … …..?"

"As far as I know, no. The Church has Executors camping the outer forest itself. They're afraid of actually getting any closer after their last attempt." She was referring to the literal forest of swords that surrounded the castle. And the last attempt that she was referring to, was the attempt of the Executors to actually traverse the sword forest. Needless to say, it went bad. They had soon found out that not only had Aemulo himself created all these swords using his magic, but they were also semi-sentient to the point of actually stopping anyone that had hostile intent against their master.

Maiya grimaced. No, that was wrong. The swords weren't sentient, they were being controlled. She would, without a doubt, kill Aemulo if given the chance, and that would count as ill will. But the swords parted themselves when she had come across it. Giving them a clear runway straight for the castle.

The memory of the swords moving to create a wall was still fresh in her mind.

"… …. …. …. …. ….."

"The Executors themselves have the entire castle surrounded. But," Maiya trailed, her lips twitching slightly as she tried to think of the right words.

"…. …?"

Maiya didn't respond immediately, but before long. She sighed and spoke up. Her tone resigned and worried. "Why seek help from Atlas at all? He is safe in this castle without the need to actually leave. Exposing yourself so needlessly, either he has something that he can't do here. Or that he's really scared of something going wrong."

"… …. ….. …..?"

"Perhaps," Maiya nodded her head in agreement. "I'll contact you should the situation escalate." She finished with a nod of her head. An act that was caught by Riza, who was staring blankly at Maiya. Listening to the conversation without blinking.

"… ..?"

Maiya raised her eyebrow at the words that had been relayed. She didn't know how to react to those words, so she allowed for three seconds of silence, before she put down the receiver and hung up.

She stared at the phone, before she shook her head and turned towards the other occupant of the room. Her blank gaze unwavering as she stared at her.

"Everything….. okay…?" Ah yes, she almost forgot. Maiya thought as she frowned. Riza herself didn't hold conversation well, she could only speak in a few words that, just enough, made a whole subject. But it was rather disconcerting trying to discern everything she said, as not all her sentences made sense at all.

Maiya nodded her head. "For now," She responded as she approached Riza and the chair that she was sitting on. "I'm heading out to assess the situation regarding the Executors. Stay here." She emphasized the last part, and though she knew Riza would follow orders, a niggling feeling in her gut told her to keep an eye on this homunculus. She may look and sound fragile, but the old Einzbern had said that she was designed as a battle homunculus. Whatever that entailed.

But it wasn't just that, Riza was made by the old Einzbern himself, she was designed, and she was created with the intent of serving as that man's battle maiden. And knowing him, he would have manipulated this homunculus to follow an order that she didn't know about.

"….Under-…..-stood…." Riza nodded her head, her blank eyes closing and opening as she bobbed her head slowly.

Maiya took her jacket from the chair Riza was sitting on and put it on. A deep frown marred her face as she did so.

She buttoned her jacket, before she took one last look at the blank eyed homunculus. She stared Riza in her blank red eyes, before she sighed and turned around. Unable to figure out something so…. Blank.

She wasn't like her teacher. No, to compare them both would be an insult to her teacher.

Kiritsugu wasn't blank, he did everything with a cause. He merely shut his heart so he wouldn't feel anything at all. He still had his emotions, and Maiya knew, she _knew,_ that Kiritsugu was sad and lonely.

But Riza…

Maiya felt nothing from this homunculus, and, unlike Madam. This one clearly had nothing in her brain save for her main objective. Which was to do battle and obey orders. Yet, Maiya felt like Riza herself was hiding something. Perhaps a hidden intelligence? Or maybe an objective that she herself wanted?

Maiya looked back one last time, taking in Riza's blank look. Before she shook her head and headed for the door.

No, she was blank, and that was it. She thought before she opened the door and exited. Closing it behind her.

**XxX**

She has… Left?

Riza stood, her legs began walking towards the door that her temporary partner had just exited from.

Tentatively, she reached for the doorknob. She twisted it and pushed it open slightly, she then leaned forward to allow her head into the hallway. She twisted her neck left, and then right. Seeing her partner was nowhere to be found. She opened the door fully before she herself stepped out into the darkened hallway.

She eyed her surroundings with a blank face. The grey stone castle walls didn't make her react, the red velvet carpet didn't make her react. Not even the sudden bat appearing in front of her and squeaking madder her so much as blink.

She closed the door behind her, before she turned to her right and began walking.

Must…. Find….

Her thoughts were on those two words alone. Before she had left the castle with her partner, she was given an objective by her creator. An objective she would follow as it was optimal to her creator.

She needed to find Aemulo's workshop and read his research notes. Perhaps take them as well.

Her thought process was slow yes, but her memory was abnormally high. She had been designed that way as a way of learning the different magic and martial arts, and a way to counter each and every one of them.

Her steps echoed around the walls as she stared straight into the darkness, her gaze unwavering as she doggedly pursued her objective. But before long, she encountered her first dilemma.

She tilted her head in confusion. Left…. Right…. Straight…?

A three way split in the corridor halted her advance, and she could only look left to right in a confused manner. Unsure of where to actually go.

Before long however, she resolved to just continue heading straight.

Her steps began once more, and soon, she found her first door. She opened it, only to find a spare bedroom just like the one she and her partner had been given.

She didn't show any outward reaction other than looking away and closing the door once more. She then continued on walking, each door she passed she opened as she searched for her objective.

No…. Not this….. where?...

Her thoughts were muddled, but her objective was absolute, and she would see through it was accomplished. But once more, she found herself at a crossroads, the way split in two this time instead of the previous three.

Left?... Right?...

She turned right, and was met with another door to her right. She opened it, and was met with the same background of a bedroom once more.

But that didn't halt her, nor did it slow her down. She continued on towards the path, she wouldn't stop. No, her creator ordered her, and she would obey.

Another… Door…

Another door was approaching on her left, and she opened it without hesitation.

If it wasn't for the fact that she was made for combat, she would have had a hole in her stomach.

Riza twisted her body to the side, her back meeting with doorframe as she managed to dodge a sword strike that had been thrust towards her.

Riza tilted her head in confusion as she stared at the silver sword, she trailed it's length, seeing the silvery gleam of steel and the cross shaped guard and leather pommel. A pale hand held the sword, and she found her eyes trailed the hand, up towards the arm, and towards the pale face. A face that had a long mop of black hair that reached just towards her shoulders.

"What are you doing here?" Lilly demanded as she pulled back her sword and readied to strike. She knew who Riza was, she had been the one to greet the two women when they first arrived. Though, much to her chagrin, her master had kept the information that he had asked Atlas for escorts in the first place. If it hadn't been for her master interrupting and the fact that she knew the Forest was something only her master controlled, she would have attacked them outright and killed them.

Though, for some strange reason, she felt that this homunculus was something dangerous, even to her.

Riza tilted her head, before she turned around, completely ignoring Lilly's question as she exited through the open door.

"Hey!" Lilly protested as she went after the homunculus. She watched as Riza continued walking before she spotted another door and opened it. Lilly frowned as she reached forward, placing a hand on the woman's shoulder.

Riza didn't react, only closing the door that she had opened and twisted her body so that she was facing the hallway again. She then promptly kept moving, leaving Lilly's hand in the air as she stared dumbfounded at the audacity of the homunculus.

"Damn it." Lilly swore as she chased after the homunculus once more. Her sword ready to strike and stab through her stomach. It probably wouldn't work, judging from her previous reflexes, but she needed to stop. At once.

Lilly thrust the sword in her hand forward, and like her prediction, it met only air. Riza dodging left and was hugging the wall as she stared at the sword, before her gaze moved towards Lilly's face.

Riza tilted her head, before she spoke. "…Don't…Stop…" She muttered, further confusing Lilly as she stared incredulously at Riza.

Don't stop? She didn't want her to stop? Or did she mean, don't stop me?

Riza was in the action of turning around, but again, she had to dodge as the sword once more was thrust towards her. This time however, instead of leaning towards the wall, she dove for the ground, her torso skidding on the ground as she dodged completely.

"I said stop." Lilly's tone was something that was familiar to Riza. The tone itself made her stop completely her body stop completely.

Lilly raised an eyebrow, before she moved forward, grabbing one of Riza's arms and started to pull her back towards her room.

Strangely enough, she was dead weight. What had happened? Did her tone set off a reaction from her?

"Yes…. Master…." Riza muttered. So that was it, her tone reminded her of her master, whoever he/she was.

Lilly took a look at the body she was dragging, perhaps she could get something important from her if she used that same tone. But right now, she wanted to get back to her room. Being out in the hallway for an interrogation wasn't something ideal.

**XxX**

"You're talking to a brick wall." Touko happily reminded her sister as said sister quietly worked through papers. Some of which were job offers for other possible targets and Designates she and Shirou could possibly go after aside from Aemulo.

Aoko just as happily ignored her sister as she found one target worthy of interest.

Helio, age 43, human, fifteenth in a generation of second-rate magi. Last seen in Northern Mongolia researching his family's Thaumaturgy which involves harnessing solar power as a means of using it as a prana battery. Designated because his research has been causing noticeable damage and effects that cause the climate to warm and snow to melt.

Has merit, she would put this in the 'maybe' section.

As Aoko placed the stack of papers on one side, she quietly tried to ignore her sister's voice as she continued to try and talk to her.

Touko had known that she was yapping without anyone listening, so she allowed herself to smirk. Maybe this will catch her attention.

"Shirou's more than likely to ignore your order you know that?" She goaded, and finally, she got a reaction in the form of a snort.

"Yeah, right." Aoko muttered as she rolled her eyes. Clearly she didn't think Shirou would do that. She had known Shirou for the longest, and while she knew he was a hardheaded idiot that would risk his life for people that he barely knew. And that he would go against everything if it meant saving people… Damn.

Aoko sighed before she stopped sifting through her papers. She looked towards Touko and narrowed her eyes. "I'm more than inclined to throw you out of my workshop, you know that?" She taunted as she glared at her sister.

Touko's only response was to smirk and to shake her head. "Changing the subject are we?" Touko reprimanded Aoko.

Aoko scowled before she looked away. Huffing slightly as she did so. "Well, whether he likes it or not. He can't do anything about it." Aoko explained. "He doesn't have money to go to Rome, and he doesn't even know where in Rome he's supposed to go in the first place."

"Don't forget that he'd be going alone should he actually have the means to get to Rome in the first place." Touko smirked as she said that. Aoko looked at Touko with surprise, before she nodded slowly.

"Yeah, that too." Aoko reluctantly agreed with her sister. But the way Touko was smirking really worried Aoko.

"Yeah, shame there isn't anyone that would actually give him information and funds to get to Rome in the first place." Touko whipped out her cigarette box and lighter once more, quietly eyeing Aoko for any outward reactions as she ignited one more stick and took a deep whiff.

To her disappointment however, Aoko's only reaction was to scowl as she saw her smoke. "Damn it! Don't smoke in here!" Aoko reprimanded as she stood up and slammed her hands on her desk as she pointed an accusing finger at Touko.

Touko raised an eyebrow from the desk she was sitting on. Is her sister really this sl-

Aoko's eyebrows rose, and she couldn't' help but swear as she slammed her desk one more time. This time, a little more forceful than before as she vaulted over it and quickly made her way towards the door.

"Damn it!" Aoko swore once more, making Touko smirk in triumph before she quickly made to follow her sister.

But before Aoko could even reach the door, it slammed open, revealing a slightly disheveled Lorelei as she had a look of irritation and slight panic in her eyes.

The sudden appearance of Lorelei, and the fact that she looked un-Lorelei like at all made Aoko stop in her tracks. While it made Touko shake her head in frustration and slight admiration. Really, you gotta admire someone for doing something so hopelessly reckless and stupid, and still think they'd get away with it unscathed.

Lorelei stared at Aoko, and then at Touko. Without words, Aoko already knew what had transpired, and what could possibly happen. "Shirou took Atlas' offer. He's on his way to Rome."

And right then and there did Aoko finally realize just how distorted Shirou really was.

**XxX**

**Had to cut this short. The next part is gonna be long. Three things will be happening, Shirou meeting Aemulo, the three women chasing after Shirou, and Riza going *bleep*. Oh wait, that was a spoiler?**

**I won't guarantee that in the next chapter Shirou will meet Shirou, but I can guarantee the two other things happening. And we're well on our way to actually 'fixing' Shirou. Trust me, by 'fixing' I actually mean *bleep*. Fuck, I can't tell you that too?!**

**Anyway. I'm surprised at the reaction for the previous chapter. 31 reviews. The most any chapter I've written actually had. And though most of it was just people rebuking me and my views and theories. Is still awesome.**

**Again people, I'm not trying to censor anything. I'm merely trying to keep everything relevant to the story itself. If you want to just point out the mistakes in my views, don't do it in a review, where some would make me look stupid and misinformed. Do it in a private message. Because seriously, why do other people need to know about all my flaws? You guys want that shit done to you too?**

**Anyway. That's it. I'm going to go out on a limb here and actually think this chapter will get this story up to 300 reviews. And if it does, I'll be doing another question time.**

**Again people, if my previous warning sounded kinda douchey, I apologize. But I didn't mean any ill-will with it. I was doing it for not only my sake, but also for you. If you guys don't fix that kind of reviewing. Then sooner or later, someone from or someone that thinks that you sounded like a douche will report you. And if you report a review, you get the option for saying it is because it isn't relevant in the story at all. Why do I know this? I clicked that report review button, and looked at the options. And also because I read the terms and conditions. Why did I do this? Boredom. Plain and simple.**

**C.O.Y.L out, peace!**


	15. Bad Day

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

**XxX**

Shirou shifted in his seat, thinking back on the deal that he had struck with Atlas and Isis.

And damn did he regret it.

"Excuse me, can you scoot over to your left a bit?" Random passenger number 1 asked, and he happily did so with a strained smile on his face.

"Uhm, can you move over a bit?" Random passenger number 2 asked as he had moved a little bit closer to her. He did so readily.

"Uhh, Can you?" Passenger number 1 began.

"Uhm. Please can you?" Passenger number 2 started.

This repeated for fifteen minutes, before the intercom suddenly beeped, signaling the captain was about to announce something. Thankfully, both passenger number 1 and 2 stopped trying to get him to move and turned their attention towards the intercom as well.

"Attention all passenger, this is your captain speaking," '_Yeah, we know'._ Shirou groaned in his mind as he tried to adjust to his meager seat in economy class. Thankfully, both passengers on either side of him seemed quite comfortable that they didn't need him moving anymore. "We'll be leaving in about ten minutes, please switch off all electronic devices. Thank you for flying with us and we hope you have a smooth ride."

The intercom pinged one, two, three times before finally the regular chatter of the crowd rose up again. And with the chatter, came the…

"Can you-" "Move please-"

"Gah!" Shirou couldn't take it anymore, and he stood straight up. And as he opened his eyes, he was greeted with the incredulous looks given to him by the other passengers of the plane. He rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment, before he excused himself and made for the bathroom, where hopefully, he wouldn't have to deal with anyone saying excuse me.

It wasn't that he was impatient, but this had been the first time he had dealt with this kind of issue. The last time he was on a plane, was when he was with Aoko. And those were first class tickets. Isis had given him economy class tickets, and, being the optimistic guy that he is, he thought it wouldn't be so bad.

Oh how wrong he was.

As he reached the bathroom door, he couldn't help but think about his possible future self and what he would have made out of this scenario.

'_Probably make a snarky comment that would make the two passengers feel embarrassed no doubt.'_ He allowed himself a small smile before he knocked on the door. It was common courtesy after all, this bathroom was shared by the passengers, and the last thing he needed was getting thrown out of the plane for 'sexual harassment.'

No one answered, and he slid the door open and made his way inside. Closing the door behind him and locking it, he put down the cover of the toilet, before he allowed himself to sit down and think back seriously.

More than likely, the minute Aoko and Lorelei found out what he did, they would go after him.

No wait, that wasn't guaranteed at all. He barely knew both women, and they wouldn't risk their lives to try and get him back. '_I mean, why would they?_' He thought grimly as he allowed himself to smile sardonically.

'_They both know I'm distorted, and now that I've done something that Rin herself was exasperated over, why would they even bother?'_ That was it then, he more than likely did something irrevocable, something they wouldn't bother trying to fix at all.

'_Is this how HE felt like? When he was left on that hill, pondering on his mistakes? On his mission and it's consequence?_' Shirou's thoughts were morbid, and he didn't like it.

He didn't like it, but he wouldn't regret what he did.

'_I won't become like you.'_ His thoughts reverberated through his body as he allowed steel to enter it. He felt his heart beat fire, and he felt his resolve strengthen. _'I will never become like you.'_

There was no doubt in his mind, he wasn't saying something that he'll make sure won't happen. He was stating something that is sure to never happen at all.

'_Even if the world is against me, even if I'm betrayed. I will never surrender. I will never retreat from it.'_ He stood up, and he nodded his head. He won't allow himself to falter, not now, and not ever. This is the only path, towards his world, towards his future. And he will gladly walk it without looking back.

He slid the door open, and made his way back to his cramped seat. His golden eyes now shining with unhidden resolve. He would make sure this would go well, he couldn't go about dying yet after all.

But as he took a seat, the intercom pinged again. The three pings signaling that the captain was about to speak quieted the noisy economy class passengers. "Attention passengers," Shirou did not like the sound of that. "Due to a malfunction on our right engine, our six hour flight has been extended to an eight hour flight. We apologize for the inconvenience." The intercom died, and all hell broke loose.

"Are you kidding me?" A portly man shouted from behind him, his slight English accent reverberated around the room.

"Ah well." Another sighed from even further back. Shirou allowed himself to smirk, some were bemoaning the time, some weren't reacting at all.

But Shirou on the other hand.

"Can you scoot over?" "Please move."

Yeah, it was going to be a long plain ride. He quietly cursed that little she-devil known as Isis, why the hell was she so cheap in providing him a ride for her mission? Damn it, if this was the way Atlas treated their hired hand, then he didn't want to know what kind of treatment their employees were given.

He allowed himself to sigh before he squeezed himself in between passenger number 1 and 2. He found the most comfortable position that was allowed, and closed his eyes. Hoping that he got to Rome well rested, and before the Church would do something especially stupid.

**Fate: Zero/Night**

**XxX**

**Thirty hours after Shirou's departure…**

"I'm sorry, but the next flight for Rome isn't for another fifteen hours." The man behind the counter smiled politely, trying not to show weakness as two of the three women he was talking too looked like they were ready to murder him.

He watched as the woman with auburn red hair and glasses sigh, before she turned towards the other two, one that had chocolate brown hair, while the other had regular brow- wait, was her hair turning red?

"Listen you two," The glasses wearing woman sighed as she stared at the other two. Her voice was calm, but it was clear that she was just as stressed as the other two. "Killing the guy behind the counter won't help us get a ticket faster." She reasoned, before she went and grabbed a pack of cigarettes that were hidden in her front pockets.

"U-uhm," The nervous man behind the counter began. "Y-You can't smo-" Touko glared at the man, making him squeak in fear before he ducked slightly behind the counter.

"I'm sorry!" He shouted in his defense as he hid behind the counter, hoping to get away from the three women that seemed to want to reach out and grab him.

Touko sighed before she clicked her tongue in frustration. She then returned the pack of cigarettes into her front pocket, before she crossed her arms over her chest as she stared at the other two. "This isn't helping you know. Shirou may have had a three to four hour start already; he's may be half-way to Rome by now."

"We know." Both Lorelei and Aoko echoed as they both stared at Touko, clearly annoyed that the topic of Shirou being ahead was being brought up again.

Touko sighed, it was hard dealing with two hard headed women going after something. "If you both know, than you know that we're wasting time trying to book a plane ticket." She told them, her eyes having narrowed in frustration.

Aoko let out a humph of exasperation. "Well, like it or not, this is the fastest way to travel to Rome right now. If we're to catch him at all, we need a plane. A fast one." Aoko waved her hand behind her as she gestured towards the private planes that were all in the air.

"If we're going to get to Shirou before he kills himself, we need a fast plane. A 'faster than the normal kind' of plane." Aoko crossed her own arms over her chest as she glared at her sister. She glared for a second, before her eyes narrowed slightly.

"Wait a minute," She began, garnering Touko's attention as she looked at Aoko with one raised eyebrow. "What are you even doing here?" That wasn't a question, Aoko demanded an answer from Touko, and Touko clearly knew it. But to Aoko's frustration, instead of being intimidated, Touko merely smiled.

"None of your business Blue." She taunted. Aoko clicked her tongue in frustration, but before she could retort or even reprimand Touko for calling her by her nickname. Lorelei finally stepped in.

"This is getting us nowhere," She interrupted, garnering both Aozaki's attentions. "We need a mode of transport that is available, and is faster than most commercial airlines." She explained as she raised one to her chin and began to think.

She was interrupted from her thoughts however, as Aoko spoke up. "How do we even know Shirou's on a commercial flight at all?" She questioned, her eyes narrowed. "For all we know, Atlas has a private jet prepared for him."

"Highly unlikely." Lorelei countered. "Atlas may be rich in comparison to the Clock Tower, but they're still Magi." She explained as she uncrossed her arms and straightened herself. "They won't be resorting to expensive means if they can get the same results with inexpensive means."

"We won't be having this problem if we just hypnoti-" Touko offered, but was cut off by both Aoko and Lorelei.

"No." They both chorused as they stared at Touko. Who only sighed and shook her head in frustration.

"And why not?" She countered, raising an eyebrow at the two women's repulsion at the idea of hypnotizing.

Aoko turned towards Touko, her frown never leaving her face. "Because it's not right." She said, her tone suggesting that that was all she was going to say about that matter.

Touko raised an eyebrow in question, but before she could rebuke her sister for such an excuse, Lorelei spoke up next.

"Because it's not worth doing." Lorelei said, and this time, Touko growled in frustration. _'She was worried about Shirou as much as Aoko, and yet here she is saying that a means to get to him faster isn't worth doing? What a hypocrite.'_

"Move." Touko ordered as she pushed her way forward, removing her glasses as her eyes took effect. It wasn't her mystic eyes, no, those eyes that she made lacked the means to do this. She felt her pupils dilate, before she felt it start to swirl. She stared into the man's eyes, making sure her gaze never left his, before she spoke up. "You will get us a plane to Rome, and it will be ready in an hour or less." Her tone was dead and even, but even then, the man could only nod in response.

"Yes. Please, take a seat as I prepare a plane for you." He gestured towards the couch behind the three women. Touko allowed herself to smirk.

"Hey! I told yo-" Aoko had finally allowed her patience to wear thin, but before she could complete her sentence, Touko was speaking up again, still staring into the man's eyes as she did so.

"And after the plane is ready, and when we leave. You will forget about me and my…" Touko paused for a second, before she nodded her head. "You will forget about me and my partners."

The man's only response was a dull 'yes,' and a nod of his head.

Touko turned around and crossed her arms over her chest as she smirked at the two scowling women. "We've wasted enough time trying to get here." Touko explained as she took out her box of cigarettes. She took one stick out of the box, before she placed it in her mouth and ignited it. "We can't be wasting anymore if we're trying to catch Shirou before he's dead." She said as she inhaled the much needed nicotine.

Aoko allowed her scowl to deepen, before she huffed and moved to the couch and sat down. Taking a magazine on the coffee table placed in front of the couch. She buried herself in the magazine, never allowing her gaze to look up and glare at her sister.

Lorelei's response was much more subdued, she stared at Touko with a disapproving glare, before she nodded her head. "You're right, we've wasted enough time." She agreed, making Touko smirk. "And I commend you for being thorough with your hypnotizing spell." Touko's smirk widened as she was complimented. It wasn't that big a deal, had she had said me and my friend, than later, when the spell finally wore off, the man would not remember Touko, but would remember both Aoko and Lorelei. Simply because at the time of the hypnotizing, Touko and the other two women weren't friends in any sense of the word. Being thorough was just a pre-requisite of being a Magus. A pre-requisite that the person they were chasing seemed to lack.

Touko's smirk died however, as Lorelei's next words were said. "But if Shirou's dead and we're too late," Lorelei paused as she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She opened her eyes, a dangerous glint shining in them as she did so. "Then I will make sure that the peace of death itself won't allow him rest." Lorelei finished as she moved towards the couch and sitting on the edge opposite of the still reading Aoko.

Touko could only raise an eyebrow in surprise, before she shrugged and took another whiff of her cigarette.

"You can't smoke here." The man behind the counter reminded her, and she allowed herself to curse. She should have told him to allow her to smoke.

**XxX**

**Eight hours and forty-five minutes later…**

Shirou Emiya was not having a good day.

As if the world itself got its giggles watching him suffer, he was currently lost in a dense forest on the outskirts of Rome trying to find the castle where his 'client' was using as a base.

'_Damn it, this is getting annoying.'_ Shirou thought grumpily as he continued to trudge through the dense forest, walking forward without really knowing if he was going in the right direction. _'First I got stuck between two whiny people, then the plane gets delayed in landing, and now I'm lost in the forest. Could this day get any worse?'_ He thought annoyed as he passed another tree that looked suspiciously like Tree #21.

"Damn it! This is getting me nowhere!" He shouted in frustration as he scratched his head irritably. He calmed himself for a few seconds, before he tried to recall the instructions Isis had given him to find the Castle itself.

"_Find the path wrought in blood, and follow it to find the Forest of Steel."_ Was what she had said, before she gave him a warning right after. _"The Church has been camping right outside the Forest of Steel for a while now, if they ever catch you. Make sure you tell them that you're here to help them. You do not want to cross swords with them."_

'_Yeah, now if I can only find them, then maybe I'll think twice about trying to fight them.'_ Shirou thought annoyed as he took a left. Could that little kid be anymore cryptic? If the vague directions she had given him were any indication, he thought that she was doing this to annoy him. Never mind escorting.

'_And what does she mean by a blood wrought path? A Forest of Steel?'_ Those two words made him think of his inner world. It made sense after all, his world begun in blood, and it is a literal Forest of Steel itself.

He didn't know when his world started to form, but he knew it was made after that day in the fire. From the way it manifested, with a ring of fire that expands, he was probably right. And since _His_ world formed like that as well, it only furthered his hypothesis.

Shirou ducked under a tree branch and stopped as he looked left and right, trying to discern where exactly he should be going. He closed his eyes as he took a deep breath, unable to find where exactly he should turn, or where exactly he should go.

"Path wrought in blood my as-?" He stopped talking as he spotted a faint glint further into the trees. Which was strange, as the forest was thick and didn't allow any sunlight to shine through. Never mind that it was slightly overcast right now.

Tentatively, he approached the spot where he saw the glint, and to his surprise, he was met with a wet splotch of red that vaguely resembled blood. But from the way it was lighter in color, it was rather obvious that it wasn't blood at all.

He approached it, and found that there was another patch of it not on the ground, but on a tree right behind the first one. He looked further into the forest, and found that patches of these 'blood splotches' were forming a vague line. And an idea instantly clicked in his head.

'_Is this what she meant by a blood wrought path?'_ Shirou thought with raised eyebrows. It was rather obvious if the 'blood' was any indication. Would a DAA candidate really have this handy of a path that led to his hideout?

Though he was rather skeptical of the path itself, he really didn't have any other choice but to follow it. It was ten times better than wandering aimlessly around in the forest that was for sure.

But as he passed the second splotch of 'blood', he suddenly felt like the temperature dropped a few degrees colder. Shirou shivered as he exhaled, and to his surprise, he saw that he could see his breath from the coldness.

"T-the hell?" He questioned as he shivered. He couldn't stop his teeth from chattering as he continued to walk forward. And though the cold was getting to him, he could still faintly feel that something was following him, but allowed himself to ignore it as he kept on moving.

'_I can't stop,'_ He thought as he embraced himself. _'If I stop, I'll get frostbite.'_ And it was the truth, as he kept moving forward, he saw multiple bodies of people on the makeshift path that was made by the blood splotches. Bodies that were frozen stiff, but lacked any indication that they froze at all. Shirou didn't need to look twice, he knew they had all frozen to death.

He clicked his teeth in annoyance as he trudged on, ignoring the bodies as best he can.

But as he continued on the path, he found that it only grew colder and colder. He swore under his breath as he felt that it was below zero now. But for some strange reason, his surroundings were still filled with green trees, and no sight of snow or ice anywhere.

As he passed another splotch, he shivered violently, there was a sudden breeze that only accentuated the cold even more. He couldn't handle anymore of this, and so he resorted to the only thing that he could do.

"I am the bone of my Sword," He chanted the beginning mantra as he felt his body heat up unconsciously. The cold was still there, but it was noticeably warmer now than before. But it was still unbearable, if only a little bit.

"What the hell is this cold?" He cursed as he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He hadn't tried doing this for awhile, but the second part of his chant might very well save his life.

He took a deep breath as he felt his circuits spark and gain even more Prana. "Steel is my body, Fire is my blood."

'_That did it.'_ Shirou thought with a small smirk. He felt his skin harden, and his blood warm. And though the cold was gone, he couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief. Truthfully, he hadn't expected that to work at all. But it seems that he still had steel and fire in him, enough to actually complete the two verses of his poem.

'_Kind of surprising.' _He thought with a small smile. '_If that hadn't worked, it meant that I'm becoming like Him.'_

Of course he was thinking about Him, his other future self that tried to kill himself. The person that walked a path he saw through to the end, and regretted the path he walked. And though he detested that man, he couldn't help but commend him. He was even more steeled and made of fire than he probably could ever be.

'He' didn't stop, and tried to find a way to save the world, even if they betrayed him. Yet, Shirou himself felt that he was betrayed just by thinking that Aoko would go with his plan at all. If all it took for him to actually feel bad going down his path was someone he trusted going against him, than he might as well turn into 'Him' right now.

If his second verse hadn't had worked, than Archer would be laughing his ass off somewhere. Probably shouting, 'I told you so.' As he did.

Shirou snapped out his thoughts as he felt a wave of Prana wash over his head. If it hadn't been for his tested reflexes, the Prana would have blown his head off.

He rolled to the side, dodging the wave of energy. And as he stopped rolling, he allowed himself to drop into a ready stance with both his hands forward, prepared to Trace Kanshou and Bakuya should the need arise.

And when he finally caught a good glimpse of his attacker, he wished that he wasn't alone any more.

"Magus," A deep baritone voice echoed around the forest. And suddenly, he felt that it was several degrees hotter. Probably because the previous curse that made it seem like it was freezing was suddenly blown away by that previous Prana wave. "You're in the vicinity of the Holy Church's Executors. State your business being here and we shall judge if you are a threat."

Really, the day really couldn't get any worse.

**XxX**

The moment his gaze squared on the 'Steel' forest, he knew that there really was only one, no matter how many of it there was.

He was, of course, talking about the swords. Rather, Sword.

The entire 'forest' was composed of steel swords that clumped here and there to form 'trees'. And each individual tree was made by swords that, for the lack of a better word, were the same.

"Strange sight huh?" Shirou vaguely heard his escort mutter. He turned and gave him a raised eyebrow.

"This forest?" He questioned in a sarcastic tone before he snorted. He'd seen better than this, this was leagues under his world, and wasn't even in the same world as the golden kings treasury.

"Oh?" The Executor sensed his disbelief, before the man crossed his arms. A small smirk forming on the man's ambiguous face. "You sound unimpressed."

Shirou rolled his eyes, and much as he didn't like looking superior, he really couldn't stop the act from happening at all. Unimpressed wasn't the right word, he was uninterested in a forest made of one sword. "You could say that." He voiced as he looked away, focusing on following the trail that led to the Executor's camp.

His escort meanwhile, could only raise an eyebrow. Before he himself shrugged, and continued on, his gaze never leaving Shirou's back.

For a few seconds, they walked in silence, neither talking, and only the sound of their footsteps echoed around. But that soon stopped as the Executor spoke up. "I don't know why you aren't impressed, this thing has been giving us trouble for awhile now." The Executor voiced, and Shirou noted with slight amusement that he had a slight accent; sounding somewhat like it was Italian.

'_He's trying to hide it.'_ He thought, before he responded to the man's previous statement via sighing. "To be honest, I've seen something more impressive than this. All this 'Forest' has is a single sword." He explained, making the Executor stop in his tracks in surprise.

"Excuse me?" The Executor asked, his eyes showing his disbelief at his statement. Shirou turned around and faced him fully, before he nodded his head.

"Yeah, you didn't notice?" He asked before he went over towards the edge of the 'Forest' and waved his hand over the entire thing. "They all look different from each other, but they're all the same." He explained before he reached out and tried to grab a sword from the ground.

Keyword: Tried.

Shirou jumped back as multiple swords started to shake, before they launched themselves in the air and went sailing towards Shirou.

"Look out!" Shirou vaguely registered the Executor's panicked voice, before he allowed his circuits to flare up. And though it had been a few minutes since he first activated his aria, it was still somewhat in effect.

He raised a hand behind him, before he Traced the same exact amount of swords that were coming at him. Seven swords formed behind his back, and he launched them forward, towards the incoming wave.

The impact of each sword reverberated around the environment, a symphony of steel that was brief resounded, and Shirou only looked on impassively as each sword impacted and flew off in different directions. And with the seventh clash of steel, the symphony ended, and all that was left was stunned silence.

"Wow," Shirou turned, and he was met with the stunned face of the Executor, his middle aged face showing surprise and awe at what he had done. For a few seconds, the Executor said nothing; he only stared at Shirou, as if trying to discern whether he should be in awe, or be afraid at what he had done. The former won.

"Let's get going," He ushered Shirou, and thankfully, Shirou complied. As they started to walk again, Shirou heard him mutter something under his breath. "I'll never get used to seeing magi use their magic."

The duo kept walking, and soon, they both found themselves in a clearing. A clearing that had multiple tents set up along its edges parallel to the 'Forest' of swords. The Executor walked past him, and ushered for him to keep up. "Come on." He said before he continued walking.

Shirou watched him for a few seconds, before he shrugged and followed suit. He allowed himself to get a clear look of the clearing, taking in the number of people he was passing by, and just what exactly they were all doing.

They were all staring at him.

Shirou watched as his escort gestured for him to come quickly, pointing towards a tent that stood in the middle of all the others, before he himself entered. Shirou narrowed his eyes, before he followed suit, ignoring the stares he was receiving from the other Executors.

As he entered the tent, he was surprised to see that it was quite cozy. It was warm, and compared to the humidness and dimness of being outside in the forest. The tent seemed to have its own lighting that seemed to make the entire inside glow. The inside had the bare minimum a forward base would have; a single large table with a map laid down in the middle of it was in the middle of the room. A desk was right behind it, with multiple pieces of paper on top of it, some were wrinkled, while some had wet ink still on it.

Shirou removed his gaze from the aesthetics, and focused on the people around the table, he was surprised to see only three.

The first one, on the far left of where he was from, was a woman. Her dark bluish hair reminded him of Lancer from his War, but the look she was giving him wasn't something that the Child of Light would use.

She was staring him with a look of amusement, unlike that of Lancer's, her smile gave him a dark feeling, but he couldn't quite place just why. She was a beautiful woman, with her heart shaped face and amber eyes that only accentuated her blue hair that reached to her shoulders. She was wearing something akin to a nun's dress that was colored dark blue with white collars on the neck and wrist parts; a dark shawl draped itself around her shoulders and around her neck and hair. While she would have passed as a nun in normal circumstances, she was wearing something that a nun would never wear. A gleaming silver chest plate wrapped itself around her body.

She noticed him staring at her, and her smile only widened slightly, had it not been for the fact that her eyes narrowed, Shirou would have thought she was amused.

He took his eyes off the woman and observed the man on the right end of the same table. This one… Wasn't a man at all.

He was a child, no older than twelve at the most. His brown wavy hair reminded Shirou of Shinji's own blue wavy hair. His eyes held a sense of wonder in them as he stared at Shirou, and though the child looked like he belonged in a school with friends of his age, a dark scar on the right side of his face prevented Shirou from fully seeing him as a kid.

The scar was a long streak that started from the forehead, and went passed his right eye, and ended just below the chin. The scar wasn't deep enough to prevent the child from seeing, but it was large enough to draw attention to it. The child seemed accustomed to having a large scar on his face, as he didn't make any movement to cover it. And that only made Shirou scowl, how long had the kid had the scar? If he was used to it, and won't hide it out of discomfort, just how young was he when he received it?

The child was wearing the same kind of uniform he had seen the men outside wore. It resemble the uniform priests wore when they were giving mass. The only thing that made the child's uniform stand out from the rest was the fact that it was significantly smaller than the others, and the fact that the child was wearing a dark denim jacket.

The child noticed him staring, and he tilted his head to the side, an obvious sign of confusion. Shirou turned away from him and towards the man in the middle.

"_(What are you doing so far from home countryman?)"_ Were the first things he registered before he looked up in surprise. He hadn't expected that at all. No, on the list of things he expected, he didn't expect to hear his native language being spoken so casually.

He looked up, and found that the man in the middle was a middle aged Japanese man with messy brown hair that didn't go past his ears. The man had a slightly square face that was laden with scars and wounds, some recent, and some fading. His chocolate brown eyes were dull, but unlike Geneva's, whose green eyes were expressly dull, this man's eyes still held some sharpness in them.

The man was wearing the same uniforms the other Executors wore, and unlike the woman and the child on the ends of the table, he didn't have anything else but that on his person.

Shirou was so busy examining the man, that he barely registered his next question. Spoken in the flawless Japanese. _"(-ou alright?)"_

Shirou blinked once, before he nodded his head. _"(Yes, sorry.)"_ He had spoken in Japanese out of reflex, and he knew for a fact had the man spoken to him in English, he would have spoken in English as well. His previous lessons with Aoko had really made him bilingual.

"_(I'll take your word for it.)"_ The man said before he removed his gaze from Shirou, and towards his escort. "Where exactly did you find this one?" He spoke in English next, the other people in the room didn't seem to mind the sudden change.

"I found him on the outskirts of the Bounded field." Shirou's escort explained, his accent showing itself once more. "I'm surprised that he was walking through it with this much clothing actually, he probably has a spell for warmth."

'_You have no idea.'_ Shirou thought with a roll of his eyes. His Prana spike from invoking two parts of his aria had already faded, and he was now working with his regular Od. He was slightly winded, but aside from slightly heavier breaths, he was okay.

"Oh really now?" The middle aged Japanese man uttered in slight surprise as he looked at Shirou. Shirou returned his calculating gaze with his own, taking in the man's heavily built body and his towering height. Even from here, where he was across the table and he was by the entrance of the tent, could he see just how large the man was.

"Then I suppose we should ask him why he's here in the first place." He said, before his gaze turned cold. Shirou felt a shiver go down his spine as his gaze turned from examining him, to looking into his eyes. "What is your name?" The man demanded, and Shirou had to resist the urge to swallow nervously.

Shirou was silent for a few seconds, staring back into the man's brown eyes, before he blurted out the first few words that formed in his head. "You first."

Had Rin been there, he would have smacked him upside the head. Had Saber been there, she would have made her approval known. And had He been there, He would have laughed and told him he was turning into another version of Him.

The following silence wasn't awkward, nor was it dangerous. Instead, the silence had a lingering air of shock and awe in it, and; as Shirou could practically see it coming from the woman to his left, amusement via the form of suppressed giggling.

"_(Of course,)"_ The middle aged man muttered in Japanese, his tone clearly disbelieving as he shook his head in exasperation. "I'm sorry," The man switched to English, and he offered Shirou a small smile before continuing. "My name is Shinji, just Shinji for now. And these," He gestured towards the woman and the child on his sides. "Are my comrades."

The woman gave him a small smile, a smile that made him shiver, before she offered her name. "Just call me Carrie for now." Was all she said before she returned to observing him with the same spine-tingling smile.

"Larry." The child spoke in a concise tone, with even more concise words. "Pleasure is mine."

Shirou regarded each with a brief look, taking in their looks of anticipation. They were waiting for him. "…Shirou." Was all he said, before he sighed. Looks like he'll have to lie, a skill that he was reminded of constantly that he lacked en masse.

Yeah, the day really couldn't get any worse.

Of course, Shirou also had another skill. And that was called tempting Fate. And tempting Fate was never really a good idea.

"Well, aren't you running late?" A familiar voice resounded from behind him, and this time, he couldn't help but swallow nervously.

"Keeping three women waiting for over three hours," Another voice, another eerily familiar voice that was cold and calculating, sounded from behind him. "You're not much a gentleman aren't you?"

Shirou swallowed, he wasn't going to lie. He was nervous _and_ relieved at the same time. They had followed him here, and that meant he wasn't going to do this alone. And though he had already thought they would leave him alone, the mere thought of them actually coming to-

'_Wait, what are they doing here?'_ He thought.

"What are they doing here?" Another voice, a third one sounded. It was accompanied by a deep breath, probably to take another whiff of her cigarette that was most likely in her hands. "Isn't that obvious? They're here to stop you from doing anything rash and killing yourself."

That confirmed it. Shirou slowly turned around, and faced the three women that were looking at him with varying degrees of exasperation.

"Aoko, Lorelei, Touko." He swallowed. They were mad, they were really mad. "Didn't think you'd be here so soon." Was all he uttered before he felt his mind go numb and his spine stiffen.

The day couldn't possib- No, he wouldn't tempt fate.

**XxX**

**Okay, this was a hard one to write. **

**And to the people that will point out the 'pointless' scene of Aoko, Lorelei, and Touko at the airport. Yeah, it may look useless. But it shows the distress of Aoko and Lorelei as they try to catch up to Shirou. Normally, they would have already gotten a plan ready and be on there way to Rome and towards Shirou. But because they were so panicked, they couldn't think straight. Touko was there to get there head in the game.**

**Okay, you know the previous author's note where I said this is going to end in two to three chapters? Well, I'll be extending that to five or six. Including this and the last chapter. Sorry about that. This arc's ending is proving to be a doozy to write.**

**And man, you guys. 316 reviews, 524 favs, and 608 follows on just fifteen chapters. Now that's amazing. And to celebrate the amazingness of it. Feel free to ask me anything. First ten reviewers that aren't anonymous will get a response to their questions. And the first five pm's will get their questions answered.**

**And, be on the lookout for another project I have being whipped up. Won't say too much, but you'll be sure that Shirou's part of it. Shirou, and giant *bleeps*. Now you'll be getting ideas in your heads. Good luck trying to figure what I mean by that. :D**

**C.O.Y.L out, peace!**

**Also, 100'000 words. Woot!**


	16. Secrets of a Bad Day

**Disclaimer: Do ****I**** have to keep saying this every time?**

**Lawyers: Yes. Yes you do.**

**Really? Cause I know for a fact that I wouldn****'****t be posting this story if I did own the-**

**Lawyers: You want to get sued?**

…**I own nothing.**

**XxX**

"I-" Shirou opened his mouth and tried to talk, but the glare from two of the three women in the tent stopped his words in his throat.

He closed his mouth as he looked down, scratching the back of his head as he tried to reduce any nervousness that was showing.

Unfortunately, it didn't work.

"Before you two go about killing him," Shirou looked up and looked to his right, where Touko was seated on a chair by the walls of the tent. Her legs crossed, and her dark brown stockings only accentuated her long legs. Shirou had to shake his head at the thought, why did he think that of all things? He's about to get maimed, and the thing he notices is Touko's legs. "We should first figure out what we're going to do now that the idiot you're staring at accepted Atlas' job."

He couldn't stop himself from opening his mouth this time. "What's wrong with that?" He asked, and that was apparently the wrong thing to say as he felt the cold glares intensify. He managed to shrink into his chair, but otherwise, he kept going. "I needed a means to get here, and you weren't going to give it to me."

In his opinion, it was the best option to him, there was a means to get here, it was free, and it didn't hinder either his student, and his teacher in the least. It was the most pragmatic option, and it was the only-

"You… Really have no idea how deep in trouble you are, don't you?" He heard the surprised voice of Touko, and he had to turn his head towards her, tilting his head at her words.

Frowning, he decided to ask just what she meant by those words. "What do you mean? It was the best and only option at the time, I couldn't really just let Aemulo go. If that means turning from Atlas' deal, it'll be worth i-"

"Wow." Touko sighed, interrupting him as she palmed her face. "Never mind, get to killing him. I need a smoke." Touko accented as she pulled out her cigarette box and took out a stick.

Before Shirou could sputter, could react in any way at her abandonment, Aoko's voice cut through the air as Touko ignited her lighter and the cigarette. "Shirou." She called, and Shirou winced at her cold voice. He turned towards her, and was met with the deadpan glare of his teacher.

"I would've looked past your obvious distortion. I didn't think it would be a problem, at all. In fact, I liked that about you. You're a person that genuinely enjoy helping people. Though your happiness matters just as much as others. But with your latest stunt, I feel the need to rectify it immediately." Aoko said coldly, and Shirou couldn't help but wince.

Before he could respond to her however, Aoko continued her rant. "Saving people is all fine and good, but if you risk not only your life, but the people around you as well; well, that needs to get rectified as soon as possible." Aoko said, and Shirou again, had to wince. But her words were confusing for him as well, so before Aoko could continue to berate him, he finally managed a few words.

"What are you talking about?"

That was the wrong thing to say. And again, he was subjected with a cold glare not only from Lorelei and Aoko, but this time, Aoko's normally apathetic look bordered on annoyed as well.

"Tell me," This time, Lorelei spoke up, and he turned his head to regard her. The look on her eyes bordered on murderous, but there was a hint of sadness to them as well. "When you were busy with your heroism act, were you alone?" She asked, and again, Shirou had to tilt his head in confusion.

Unable to see a reason to lie (Not like he could with these women), he told them the truth without breaking a sweat. "No. The last time something like this came up, with life and death decisions, I had Rin with me."

That seemed to stop the cold glares from Aoko and Lorelei, and even managed to make Touko raise an eyebrow at his words.

"Rin?" It was Lorelei that spoke, and Shirou nodded his head at her.

"Rin was a…" He hesitated as he remembered the woman dressed in red. Her smiling face as they were in her room, how her soft hands were on his chest. He blushed slightly as he remembered bits and pieces of Rin's life, courtesy of the ritual. An act that wasn't missed by the three women in the room. "She was a friend." He finished, but his voice was soft as he remembered her.

Silence descended in the tent, and once more, Shirou was subjected with close scrutiny. But the glares weren't cold, nor were they glares anymore. They were instead, frowning faces as they stared at him.

"…Anyway." It was Aoko this time that broke the silence. Though her voice had a touch of annoyance in them. "Regardless of your past with this Rin, you can't just go and accept that kind of job if you're just going to go behind your employers back and do the opposite of protecting the client." Aoko reprimanded, but before he could ask why, she was already going on to those exact reasons.

"When you accept a job, whether you're a freelancer or not. Your name will be put under your employers list of employees. You do a bad job; they're the ones that your job will reflect on. Not you. The same goes if you do a good job." Aoko explained as she stared at him. Her red eyes glowing as she locked eyes with his golden ones.

"So imagine if one of their employees suddenly turns into a turncoat?" Aoko said, and Shirou finally understood what she was going on about. Seeing his face, Aoko nodded her head. "That's right, there will be repercussions on the employee. They gave the company a bad name, so you can be sure they will return the favor."

"But wait a minute." Shirou interrupted, sweat forming on his head. "Why hire people they know they can't trust in the first place?" He asked, and again, he had the distinct feeling that he had said something both incredibly stupid, and incredibly shortsighted.

To his surprise however, instead of Aoko or Lorelei answering his question, it was Touko who had answered his question. But that wasn't the surprising part, the real shocker was that Touko's voice was both exasperated and irritated at the same time. "Okay, you can beat him now, but after that, I'm killing him."

Shirou glanced over at Touko, wide-eyed and surprised at her reaction. Touko only regarded him with click of her tongue before she took a deep whiff of her cigarette, looking away from him as she did so.

Was he missing something here?

"Shirou." Aoko's voice snapped him out of his thoughts and he turned his head to regard her. He looked at Aoko, who had her crimson red eyes staring right at him. It unnerved him slightly, but otherwise, he nodded his head to tell her he had heard her.

Taking a second to stare at Shirou, Aoko sighed. "I don't know what kind of relationship you had with Rin. But now that you're here, that doesn't apply to me, Lorelei and…" Pausing for a second to look at Touko, Aoko sighed before she shook her head. It was obvious that Touko was no longer paying attention to the conversation, she was too focused on smoking her cigarette to care. "And Touko. You can't expect your decision not to have consequences. And right now, the consequences are dire not just for you, but for us as well." Aoko explained, and this time. Shirou adopted a look of shock.

"But wait," Shirou stopped whatever explanation that would come from Aoko. He then gave her a questioning look, before he turned towards Lorelei, who was regarding him with a calculating gaze. He looked at the both of them, before he finally spoke. His voice strained. "Why did you even chase me here?" He asked, and though his question was a simple one. It held the hidden innuendo 'why are you here if you're going to get punished?'

Lorelei was the one that answered. "Why? Because you are my teacher." She said that with so much confidence that Shirou thought for a moment that she wasn't kidding… Wasn't she?

Seeing the disbelief on his face, Lorelei shook hes head. "Regardless of my personal feelings, it doesn't change that I'm related to you. When Atlas learns of your betrayal, they will not only target you, but will target those that you had connections to. Which happens to include me." Lorelei explained to the flabbergasted Shirou.

Seeing his shocked face, Aoko pressed on, taking over the conversation. "And I'm your teacher Shirou." She said, and Shirou turned to face her. "What you do reflects as what I've taught you."

Aoko sighed. "Listen Shirou," She began, her tone losing its earlier coldness only to have it replaced with exasperation. "You aren't alone, at least, not anymore. You aren't a distraction, you aren't there to be the muscle, you are Shirou. The apprentice of Aoko Aozaki; as well as the teacher of the Barthomeloi scion, Lorelei Barthomeloi. What you do is not just reflected on you, but also to both of us." Aoko explained. Shirou had visibly calmed down now, and Aoko couldn't help but smile at him.

But he wasn't convinced, not in the slightest. And though his face was calm, it was marred by a frown. "Then why didn't you just cut ties with me? Say I've gone rogue? Gone mental and started doing unexpected things?" He asked, and it was a very valid question. And though he felt some sort of happiness from hearing Aoko's explanation. He couldn't help but doubt slightly.

He looked at Aoko, who refused to meet his eyes, and then to Lorelei. Who was regarding him with the same cold gaze she always had. Always calculating, and always observing. So it wasn't a surprise to see that she would answer his question with a slightly irked (if monotone) voice.

"It seems you are learning how Magi work." Lorelei complimented, but her tone suggested that it wasn't really a compliment but a hidden complaint. "But rest assured Shirou, you're stuck with us as much as we're stuck with you. That is all you need to know right now." She answered coolly.

Silence descended the room, and Shirou had to consciously stop himself from smirking. It was the closest feeling he ever had of being happy. He had allies! No, that wasn't right. He had people that would stick with him through thick and thin. He had been nervous that he had done something wrong, that he would go alone. He was afraid that should he really go alone in this world twelve years from his time, he would turn out like Archer. At least when he was in his Grail War, he had Rin. The magnificent woman had stuck through him through thick and thin and had assuaged his worries from turning into someone like Archer.

It was just one reason why he loved Rin… Wait, love?

Before he could contemplate on his new thoughts however, he was brought back to reality by Touko, who had apparently finished her cigarette and was now in the process of berating him.

"…-nd not only that, I've shown my face with you." He managed to catch the last part of her rant as she brought her right hand up to her face and pinched the bridge of her nose. Touko then let out a sigh of frustration. "I swear, if I lose any clients in Atlas because of you, a vivisection would be too good for you." Touko sighed in frustration.

Before he could respond to the obvious threat to his organs, Aoko had cut him off with a serious expression. "We can discuss dissecting-"

"Vivisecting." Touko cut her off, and Aoko could only glare at Touko.

"-Vivisecting." She relented, and Shirou could only stare at her blankly. Unsure of how to react to that. "Later. Right now we need to figure out what we're going to do about Aemulo." Aoko said, and Shirou gave her a questioning look.

"Wait, 'We'?" He asked, and again, he was subjected with a cold glared from Lorelei and Aoko.

"Yes. We. Any problems with that my little student?" Aoko asked with a frown, and Shirou wisely backed off, they were angry enough as it is, no need to add fuel to the fire.

"No, no," He said hastily. He noted that Touko, though still rather put-off with him, was sporting a small smile that bordered on a smirk. "That's great!" He said with as much enthusiasm as he could muster.

"Good." Aoko nodded her head as she turned back towards Touko and Lorelei. "Now, first we need a means to get past the forest…"

He tuned out the rest of the conversation. Not that he was doing it on purpose, if he even thought of doing that, he was sure that he would meet the end of both Aoko's and Lorelei's fist… Well, Aoko's fist and Lorelei's sword.

He watched as Aoko discussed possible plans to get past the Forest of Swords, and he watched as Lorelei nodded her head and added some of her own thoughts into the mix. All the while Touko was busy smoking and thinking, both listening to some of Aoko's plans, and shaking her head as she heard some of them.

This time, he really couldn't help but let out a small smile, it was faint, but it was there. A smile that was genuine, that was real. He felt sick to his stomach for doing it, but he really couldn't do anything about it.

He had people that were willingly go through hell and back for him. He could admit it now, he was afraid before. When he had come to this world twelve years into the past, he was afraid that he would turn into Archer without Rin's help. Even though he had resolved never to regret, never to look back and think of what could have, what should have been. He was still afraid that some part of him would regret doing what he did.

But it was unfounded, he had met people just like Rin. Aoko with her teaching and caring personality. Lorelei with her cold calculating logic and rather warm and somewhat understanding gaze. And to some extent, Touko, with her insatiable curiosity.

He knew it wasn't fair to compare three women to Rin. But he couldn't help it, he wanted – no – he needed Rin. She was his voice of reason, the one that showed him his path to ruin, and would steer him away from it. She was the woman that he… loved. Loved for sticking with him, loved for never leaving his side, and loved for going as far as adopting some of his distortion to save Shinji.

Yes. He could admit it now, he truly loved Rin Tohsaka.

He looked up, towards Aoko, towards Lorelei and Touko. And it was then he realized that he really was lucky. Not only did he find Rin, but he found these amazing women as well.

He idly wondered when he got so good at thinking about his own feelings.

**XxX**

"Master!" Lilly burst into her master's room, not bothering with knocking as the situation called for haste and not tact.

Her master turned around, and for a brief second, showed anger at being interrupted, the sword in his hand raised and ready to strike her down. But, for whatever reason, he dropped the sword to his side and tilted his head, both in confusion at her haste, and at her nervous demeanor.

"What is it Lilly? I asked not to be disturbed." Aemulo warned in a cold tone, and she could only wince. The hidden message was 'Speak fast or I will cut you down.'

Shaking her head, both to clear away thoughts and nervousness. "Master! I have grave news," She swallowed the lump in her throat as she readied herself to say the next few words.

Aemulo, sensing his aide's hesitation, narrowed his eyes. "What is it?" He asked, his tone harried and his body tensed.

Swallowing one more time, Lilly allowed herself a moment to breath, before she finally told him what had her nervous and in haste. "I've spotted the Barthomeloi scion Lorelei with both Aozaki sisters in the Executor's camp." She finally managed to say, and Aemulo visibly quailed at the news.

And who could blame him? If the news was enough to make Lilly rush to her master in his study when he asked not to be disturbed, then the news must really be grave. And having a Sorcerer as well as the Puppet-Master and the scion of the family that hated Dead Apostles wasn't exactly the best kind of news.

"What of our escorts? From the Einzbern's?" Aemulo asked, and Lilly only shook her head.

"I've not told them yet," Lilly reported, before nervously glancing back up at Aemulo. "Do you suppose I should tell them?" She asked tentatively.

For a moment, Aemulo didn't say anything, only humming in thought, his free left hand reaching up to his chin to think. His deformed face looked even more deformed as he tried to think of a solution to their current predicament.

Finally, after a few more seconds of contemplation, Aemulo nodded his head. His melted face swaying a bit. "Yes, they are our bodyguards for now. It is prudent we hold no information that could potentially cause us harm." Aemulo explained, before he allowed a frown to form on his face, his deformation accentuating as his lips curved.

She could only nod her head, before turning around to do just what he had said. But before she reached the door, Aemulo stopped her.

"Wait," He ordered, and Lilly turned around to face her master. She was surprised to see a sword suddenly coming towards her, tumbling through the air end of end before she caught it by its handle. She closely examined the sword, before she looked up at her master with confusion evident in her eyes. "Hold on to this for now, it very well could save your life."

Lilly stared at the sword, carefully scrutinizing it. It was eighty centimeters long, quite shorter than a short sword, and it's pommel held a glowing green emerald in its end. The guard was a regular cross, but a hand guard reached from one end of the cross to the pommel allowed it some design. The blade itself wasn't much, it looked like regular steel. All in all, Lilly thought it looked like a regular sword found in a battlefield.

But of course it wasn't a regular sword.

Even though it lacked any sort of exuding brilliance to it, she could still feel power emanating from it. Pure unadulterated power was being held back by the green emerald on its end, and Lilly could only look at it in awe.

"That sword is only good for one use," She heard her master say, and she couldn't bring herself to look up at him, she was so transfixed with the blade, with its power, that she felt like it was gifted to her by God himself to strike down his foes.

Too bad God was dead to her.

"Its name is Jericho," She heard her master, and she could only nod her head. "Should you ever feel threatened, feel free to use it." Again, she could only nod her head.

"Now, go find the Einzbern escorts. Tell them of the situation, and tell them that they have free reign on what they choose to do so long as I get out of here alive." Aemulo ordered, and again, she could only nod her head as she continued to stare at the sword in her hands. Like she feared that it would unravel should she take her eyes off it.

She heard her master chuckle, his deep baritone voice finally snapping her out of her transfixed state… No wait, she wasn't transfixed. She could still think straightly, she knew she was staring at the sword, at its power. But she couldn't get her eyes off it.

"Use that sword well. It will break once you call its name. It is unlike my other creations, it was made with the intent of turning it into a phantasm. And unlike my swords, this one has a time limit as well as a usage limit." After these words, Aemulo stopped laughing before casting a cold glare on Lilly once more.

"Now go. If we're against that kind of power, I fear that even my Forest will not last long." He ordered, and this time. She obeyed.

**XxX**

"It's really strange." Shirou commented as he stared at the 'Forest' of swords. He felt slightly miffed that this was labeled as a Forest, when he literally had the same thing in his soul. Except much more diverse than this mockery of his world. This forest only held one sword as opposed to his countless ones.

It was an odd feeling, being offended that his world was comparable to this one. He never really held pride in his world, after all, it was a world filled with mockeries. But right now, with this Forest with only an amalgamated sword as it's guardian, he really couldn't help but feel angry at it.

"What's strange Shirou?" Aoko chirped as she walked up next to him. He turned to face her, and was surprised to see not only his teacher, but also the blue haired Executor. What was her name again? Carrie?

"The sword," Shirou pointed at the Forest, making the two women look at it as well. "It's just one sword, yet why are they all different?" He asked even though he knew he wouldn't get an answer.

"Wait," Aoko stopped him, and he turned to regard her with a raised eyebrow. "What do you mean 'Sword'? As in singular?" She asked in an incredulous voice.

Shirou only nodded his head. "The sword-" He paused as he closed his eyes and flipped the switched inside him, he could feel the hammer fall and the bullet fire through his mind as he felt his Od start to form the sword that made the entirety of the Forest. He held out his hand and in a flash of light, the sword appeared floating on top of his left palm.

He opened his eyes to take a better look at what the sword looked like, and promptly blanched at the sword that he had pulled out of his World.

It was… It couldn't even be called a sword. The blade was stretched out like a sheet of paper, the steel(?) blade looked like it was so brittle that it could shatter with just a touch, and the blade itself was so dull that he doubted it could even cut butter. And even though it was long, a hundred and fifty centimeters, it was also extremely thin. So thin that it could be confused as paper had it not been for the fact that it was gleaming in the small amount of sun that permeated the dense forest.

The handle was an abomination to all handles. It was splintered and he doubted that it could even be held, but not only that, the end of the pommel itself had a very distinct spike attached to it. It was long, it was sharp, and it was also incredibly brittle. The cross guard that separated the wide blade to its brittle handle and pommel was about the only thing that looked normal… Had it not been for the fact it was as wide as the blade itself.

All in all, the 'sword' looked more like a shield. Granted not a very good one as it looked like it would shatter with the slightest touch, but still a shield.

It was Aoko's words that snapped him out of his stupor. "And what is that supposed to be?" She asked, genuinely confused at seeing him Project a bastardized shield.

"…its name is Hector. It's the sword that's guarding the castle." He explained as he finally managed to sort out the memories of the sword… Or rather swords.

It was an amalgamation of swords, Hector was an abomination of a sword that took multiple other swords to make it into one. His World, the Blade Works, couldn't make sense of it. It was a sword that shot for the attacker when the user defends, yet it was also a sword that always stood still, only moving when the user chooses it to. But it wasn't just that, no, it was much more than that.

The sword was used to defend, to attack, to pierce, to parry, to stab, to slice. But, even though it had all those uses, it wasn't a sword that was used to defend, to attack, to pierce, to parry stab or slice. The memories are jumbled, the entire thing wasn't something that he could understand.

It was just like that sword that he saw back at the Clock Tower, the one that even now, he couldn't comprehend.

But there was a bright side to it; he had a name for the sword. Hector. Looking deeper, he found that the name of the sword came from a previous one; it had come from a sword that was fused into this amalgamation of a sword in his hands.

"Shirou?" He heard his teacher call his name, and he looked up to see her frown and worried face. He shook his head clear from the memories of the sword. But Aoko took his shaking as a sign of frustration. "Is it really that bad?" She asked, and he had to shake his head again.

"It's not bad." He admitted. And that was the truth. "Hector itself isn't a good sword to use, alone; it's brittle enough to shatter if it rains." He explained, before he turned towards the Forest once more. "But if you split it, put the entire essence of the sword into different swords, overwriting the memories of the vessel with Hector, it's good to use as a defense mechanism."

Hector wasn't a practical sword. Heck, you couldn't use it without tiring yourself just from the sheer size and length of it. It was also desensitized; it was diluted as a sword. From the memories that he could sort out, it held fifteen swords in its memories, yet it also held a shield, hence the shield like appearance when he pulled it out of his World.

He couldn't help but sigh, this was getting him nowhere.

"You think we can just force our wa-" He cut off his teacher before she could finish that sentence.

"No!" He shouted, turning towards her and dismissing Hector back into the recesses of his mind. Aoko raised an eyebrow at his exclamation, and he noticed that the blue haired woman behind his teacher seemed to be listening intently now. As opposed to her previous mask of apathy to their talking.

"What's wrong?" Aoko asked, still surprised at his sudden reprisal of her suggestion. Shirou only shook his head at her.

"That's a very bad idea." He told her straightly, before he allowed a random sword to fire from the barrel in his head. He allowed the sword – a ninety centimeter knight's sword with a cross guard and smooth wooden handle – to appear into his hand. Before Aoko could ask what he was doing, he chucked the sword into the Forest.

SHN-SHN-SHN-SHNKT!

The sword that he had Projected never made it past the third row of Hectors before it was bifurcated mercilessly. Multiple Hectors rose from the ground before they launched themselves at his Projected sword to intercept it. The defending Hectors not only sliced the airborne sword in half, but they also proceeded to keep striking it until he decided to let it return to his world. Needless to say, the nameless sword never stood a chance.

But the Hectors weren't finished, the multiple swords that rose from the ground to strike the incoming sword turned towards Shirou, before they launched themselves straight at him. All fifteen swords charged and ready to impale him where he stood.

"Shirou!" Aoko reacted immediately as she tried to push him away from the swords, but it was unneeded. As soon as the swords started to advance upon them, Shirou had projected the same number of swords, and though they all looked like the Hectors that were incoming, they weren't exactly the same.

They were hastily made creations just like he had done before. So in a match between the original amalgamated Hectors that were incoming towards him, and these empty husks without purpose, the Hectors would win without a doubt. But he didn't need to win against these swords.

He only needs to deflect them.

Without much thought, his Projected swords launched themselves at the incoming swords, and though they looked like they were going to meet each other head on, the people in the immediate vicinity saw that that wasn't exactly the case.

CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG!

The swords met, and the 'original' Hectors suddenly found themselves flying end over end back towards the Forest. The projected husks however, were dismissed as soon as their usefulness was outlived.

"Impressive." For the first time, the blue haired woman known as Carrie spoke up, snapping Aoko out of her thoughts, as well as making Shirou turn to her with a raised eyebrow.

"I take it the swords home in on the one with violent intent on their master?" Carrie asked, and Shirou nodded his head.

"Yeah, its part of the memories…" Shirou paused as he tried to figure out the best word to use for the sword known as Hector and its memories. "…combined into Hector. It came from a shield's use of defending it's master from enmity." He explained before he shrugged.

"Hmm, interesting." Carrie hummed in thought as she stared at Shirou. "So this Forest is just one big steel shield for our target?" She asked, and Shirou frowned at her words.

"In layman terms, you could say that." He said as he stared at the Forest one more time. In all honesty, that wasn't even scratching what Hector does for the Forest as well as Aemulo.

"And in an expert's eye?" Carrie asked with a hint of amusement in her voice. He turned towards her, and tilted his head in confusion at her words.

"I'm no expert Carrie." He bit his tongue as he almost added an honorific to her name. They were speaking in English, and he could see that Carrie wasn't a Japanese native. So adding unnecessary words to the conversation might as well confuse her.

Carrie smiled, and again, he could feel her smile was something else entirely. Like, it wasn't even there in the first place. That the smile was a sneer, an angry one that was filled with loathing. Yet, the blue haired woman behind Aoko was by no means sneering. "But if you're not an expert, what are you then? You obviously have great understanding when it comes to this Forest. And I daresay; only an expert could properly discern any kind of differences with these swords that are the same yet are not."

Her words were as confusing as her smile, and Shirou found it hard to muster a reaction aside from frowning. It was at this point did Aoko turn back towards him, her brown hair swaying as she whipped her head towards him so fast that Shirou feared that it would hurt in the morning.

Aoko's eyes locked with his, and he immediately understood what she was saying. 'Don't tell her everything, just enough to make her stop questioning.' He idly wondered if that was what Rin would tell him in this kind of situation as well, but brushed the thought of Rin out of his mind as he had more pressing matters to attend to.

He turned his eyes back towards Carrie, and was met with the same smile that disturbed him. He didn't let his apprehension show too much, he only swallowed nervously. And it was very well justified. He was a very poor liar, Rin had pointed it out, and even Lorelei had told him that he would make a poor Magus because he couldn't hold back and withhold information. He was blunt, he knew that. But still, to have three women point out that you were a terrible liar should be a compliment, yet with them; it felt like they were belittling him. Only Aoko seemed to approve of his straight answers and to-the-point words.

Allowing for another few seconds to pass, he finally locked eyes with Carrie. "I'm just a guy that understands swords." He told her, and for a brief second, he could see Carrie's face scrunch up in an undecipherable look. And for that brief second, Shirou felt like he had mucked up, that he had let himself get read, he feared that Carrie would retaliate against him. But almost as soon as it appeared, it was gone, and Shirou was left with the smiling face of Carrie.

"We're the same then." Was all she said before she turned around and began walking back towards camp. Leaving a confused Shirou behind as he watched her turn around a tree and disappear.

He idly wondered if that was it. If that was an interrogation, if he had done well, or had let information slip through his face, that he had shown that he was lying.

But as soon as those thoughts entered his mind, they almost immediately left. There was no use in worrying about it right now. They were allies, and the most she could possibly do was tell those she worked with that he was keeping something from them. Which might as well be relaying information that was already known. And it wasn't like they weren't doing the same to him – to them, he amended, as he caught a glimpse of Aoko in the corner of his eyes.

The Executors were hiding some things as well, so it would be obvious that he would hide things from them as well. The important thing would be that he wouldn't allow what he was keeping to be known. And at the very least, find out what they were hiding from him as well.

"That's not important." He snapped out of his thoughts as he turned towards Aoko, who had remained silent for awhile now, and had spoken as if she had heard him think.

Tilting his head in confusion, he asked. "What are you talking about?"

Aoko only shook her head. "We're hiding things from them," He knew that. "And they're hiding things from us." Again, he knew that. There wasn't any point in pointing out the obvious.

But before he could tell her that he knew just what she was saying, she shook her head. "And I'm telling you, it's not important." She rebuked, and again, Shirou could only tilt his head in confusion at her.

Seeing his obvious confusion, Aoko sighed as she shook her head. "Both parties have their secrets. I have mine, and you have yours, and they have theirs." Aoko began. "But that doesn't mean that their secrets are important to the mission." Aoko explained.

"Even if they told us what they were keeping from us, it could very well be something useless as being attracted to you." Aoko stated, and he blushed at her words. "Of course, I'm not overly positive." Aoko amended as she sighed. "They could very well be hiding something that could endanger our lives, and that could kill us, that could turn us against each other."

"But that doesn't matter right now." Aoko lamented as she looked up and locked eyes with Shirou, her normally red eyes now a bright blue color. It took a minute for Shirou to comprehend what happened, before he finally showed his surprise by tilting his head in confusion.

"What matters right now," Aoko began, cutting off whatever thought process he might have had. Aoko blinked, and the blue eyes were now the normally bright red color that he was so used to seeing. "Is that we get the job done. We handle one problem at a time, we don't have to shoulder all the problems at the same time and allow ourselves to be overwhelmed."

Shirou blinked, before he nodded his head. "One step at a time?" He asked, though he already knew the answer.

He wasn't surprised to see Aoko nod. "One step at a time." Aoko confirmed as she turned around, gesturing for Shirou to follow suit. "Now let's go," She ordered.

He was about to ask what she was talking about, before she looked back, a small smile vaguely apparent on her face. "You didn't tell us about the sword. Now we have to figure out a way to get past it."

At her words, Shirou froze in place. Though her voice held no malice in them, the implications behind her words were rather obvious. 'You withheld information, now you have to tell the others what you know.'

And though he didn't intend to forget about it, he couldn't really deny that he was about to walk onto a landmine.

He sighed before looking up; he saw a few streaks of sunlight flow through the trees. Though they were orange now, signaling that it was about to get dark.

Yeah, the day wasn't over yet. And by proxy, so was his bad day.

**XxX**

Blinking one more time, he allowed his mind to wander inwards. He allowed his soul to guide him towards the necessary materials, an onyx sword, black as ebony, appeared as the first material. The sword's name wasn't needed, the only thing that was needed was the sword's materials, and though the sword itself was something powerful, it wasn't what he needed.

"Coalesce: Unbreakable." He was pushing it now, that wasn't a proper word to use. If he wanted something hard, he should have used that word instead. But though he knew the consequences of going past the norm, he needed this more than anything now.

Another memory formed in his mind. This one, of a bow. Again, the name wasn't important. What was needed was the elasticity of it. The bow string that bends when you pull back, along with the body stretching back as well. And at release, the bow will send even the flimsiest of arrows soaring.

"Coalesce: Flexibility." Again, he was pushing it. He could feel pools of sweat forming above his brows, but that wouldn't stop him. Even as he felt his face melting at the immense magic that he was using.

Another memory, this one different from the first two as it was the memory of something that was used to defend. A shield, a simple Spartan shield that was used to strike against their enemies as well as defend their homes.

Its name was Heracles.

He would have snorted if not for the fact that he needed to concentrate. To call your shield the same name as a god. It showed both cockiness and idiocy. But nonetheless, he needed the name, and the memories of the shield.

"Coalesce: Defense." He felt his sweat beads turning into blood now, his face was running, and he could feel his Od getting drained at impossible rates. The circle that he was standing on for the ritual isn't helping as much as he wanted it to.

But nonetheless, he pushed on. He needed one more memory for this Amalgam. For this weapon.

The last memory came up to him, another weapon. A hammer this time. He felt his World start turning now, his Reality Marble was pushing for the memories to rise, and it was doing a very good job at it.

What he needed from this hammer was its use. He needed it for what it was used for, to be a hammer, so with one last breath, he put all the memories of the hammer into Heracles with a sword's body, and a bow's elasticity.

"Coal-" He paused to breath, before he pushed on. "-esce: Use." He felt his face dripping now, his skin pouring onto the floor as droplets of liquefied skin. He didn't flinch away from the pain, he was used to it. What he needed to do was focus on the sword in his hand. Heracles was complete, now he needed to deny it as a phantasm.

"AMaLgAm," His voice was warped now. But he pushed on. "AmAlgam," He repeated, and each time he said those words, Heracles began to form onto the world. Not as a bastardized memory, not as an abomination of weapons. But as a singular entity.

"AmAlGAm." Again he repeated. The sword began to take on weight, and the Mana that was being used to form the sword began to start tearing it apart. It was a phantasm, an abnormality that Gaia will erase.

He wouldn't let it.

"Amalgam." His voice came out as a harsh whisper, but it wasn't warped. It was his own voice, and it was what was needed. The sword flashed, and it took form. As a unique entity with the name of Heracles the black onyx sword.

He let his right arm fall to his side, Heracles falling towards the ground as he did so. He felt the magical circle he used for the ritual begin to fade, he could feel his face start to solidify, and he could feel his Od begin to circulate his body once more.

He glanced down and picked up Heracles. Testing its weight in his hands, he swiped it through the air, and he allowed himself to smirk as the sword bent as it flew through the air.

"Almost…" He managed to say before he placed the sword on the desk to his left. The very same desk with a previously created weapon.

Taking one last look at Heracles and the Nameless weapon that he created, he nodded his head. "It's almost done. I just need a little more time." He spoke, and though his voice was weak and labored, it held confidence in it.

He glanced down at the ground he was on, and saw that the circle had faded. He shook his head. He would try it later, for now. He would recuperate. Even if the Puppet-Master and the Barthomeloi scion were here, they wouldn't be able to get past his Forest. At least, not the outer part of it.

The Blue however, was a different story all together.

He shook his head clear of those thoughts. He didn't need stressful ideas in his head, not when he was so close to what he needed.

He had perfected the First True Magic now. His weapons and his World was proof of that. But even then, he needed to continue. To reach his impossible dream, he would use his impossible power.

He straightened himself as he began to walk towards the door. For now though, he would go meet with his partners. At the very least, he needed a contingency plan. The Executors and the Mages wouldn't be coming at him here. Not unless they wanted causalities.

But at the same time, he couldn't come to them, even if he wanted to. He cursed himself for his sloppiness; he should have left the moment the Einzbern escorts arrived. He shook his head clear from those thoughts, there was no use dwelling on them after all. That was in the past, and now he had to deal with the present.

He idly wondered if he should tell his escorts the secretes to the Forest. Should the Executors and the Mages decide to brute force there way in, his bodyguards needed to at least know what his Forest does before anything.

He opened the door, and stepped out, his thoughts wandering on strategies and contingencies.

**XxX**

Shirou sighed for the umpteenth time as he tried to focus on his inner world. His Blade Works.

It was still the same, the twilight in the sky as the sun was setting, the vast field with no horizon and was filled with swords, spears, axes, and any other weapon that he could conceive, all standing like tombstones on a barren field.

It was still the same, yet, he felt like it was different all together.

Six days, he had been in the past for six days and already his Blade Works was morphing. The changes weren't overt; they were small and barely noticeable at first. But they were still there. He would know, it was his World after all. And though he lacked the mastery of it like He did. He at least had the knowledge of using it.

He breathed in one more time, before he closed his eyes, allowing his mind to drift into his World. Meditating was never really for him. He lacked the patience for it, and he didn't really see the need to meditate at all.

Of course he knew that meditating was a good way to focus, given that you aren't in the middle of a battle, on a problem. He had joined in meditating sessions before when he had been in the Kyudo team. Though both Mitsuzuri and Taiga had teased him greatly by saying that there wasn't any difference between his meditating self, and his regular self.

He cleared his head of any excess thoughts as he finally reached his inner World. He gazed left, and then right, taking in the sight of his World and all the weapons in it. The horizon that showed no end, the ground that held nothing but dirt and the swords that were stabbed into it, and the orange sun that seemed to burn the sky.

Yes, it looked the same, yet at the same time there were subtle differences here and there.

The sun seemed to be a lighter orange color, its color more diluted than last he really saw it. The barren ground held some wetness to it, and each step he took seemed to make the ground crunch, almost as if there was something buried in it.

But though those two things were enough to garner raised eyebrows from him, it was the third difference that really made him wonder if he really was changing like Rin wanted.

It was wind.

It was subtle, almost like a light breeze that only managed to sway the leaves in trees and bend the grass lightly. Not enough to be considered refreshing. But all the same, it was there. There was no denying what he was feeling.

And the wind wasn't caused by his weapons. True, he had weapons that passively gave out wind, from the top of his head he could name three, but there was a certain difference to those winds compared to this one. The wind that came from the weapons was pure, almost like they came straight from the ocean itself. But the wind he was feeling was dry, not bone dry, but it was dry enough to make him wet his lips every few seconds.

He didn't know what this meant, but he would have enough time to figure it out later. Like Aoko had told him, one problem at a time.

He refocused on his previous objective. He held out his hand, and immediately, like space itself wasn't there, Kanshou appeared in his left hand. The sleek black sword with hexagonal designs etched on its black blade seemed to drink in the twilight, making it appear even darker than it usual was.

He then held out his right hand, and Kanshou's white counterpart appeared like it did. No warning, no flash of light, merely appearing as if space itself wasn't there.

Bakuya was the complete antithesis of Kanshou. If Kanshou was black as night, than Bakuya was white as snow. Kanshou had the hexagonal tiles on its blade, Bakuya had nothing but the white blade itself. The only thing that made the two swords twins was the same handle and design they had that connected the blades on the handle itself. Both Chinese swords had the Yin and Yang symbol on them, and that was made them twins.

Different, yet at the same time, exactly the same.

He held out both swords in front of him, taking in the beauty that had captivated him the first time he saw them. The solitude of the swords that made him want them, that made him want to be like Him, just so he could wield them like He did.

The swords themselves weren't the most beautiful in his World, there were multiple others that could content with that title. And it wasn't like they were made with the best material in the World, other swords that were made with diamonds could chip away these two swords without trouble. No, Kanshou and Bakuya weren't the most beautiful, and they weren't the most powerful, most durable, and certainly not the greatest.

So what made him like these two swords so much if there were other swords that were even more beautiful than both? Simple. He empathized with these swords.

Kanshou and Bakuya held no love for pride, they didn't look for glory, they didn't look for ways to be engraved into history, they were only there for use. The only thing that mattered to the two swords was that they are together, and if they were together, it didn't matter if they were famous or infamous.

It was a strange thing, empathizing with swords. But as he thought about it, it wasn't really strange for him. He was after all, a sword in his core. But these swords, Kanshou and Bakuya were almost exactly the same as him. As that Man.

He gave Kanshou a twirl in his left hand, the sword almost singing in his grasp as it slashed through the air. And as soon as Kanshou readjusted into his left hand, he did the same action with Bakuya in his left, garnering the same result.

Satisfied that they really were there, he discarded both. Raising both hands slightly, before he flicked his arms downwards, letting go of both swords. Both Kanshou and Bakuya imbedded themselves on either side of him.

He raised his left hand again, this time, recalling another sword.

A gleaming white sword appeared in his hand, its steel shining in the twilight, and its blue handle and cross-guard as blue as the ocean. Its golden designs etched on the cross-guard and the handle gave it a regal look.

Caliburn, the sword in the stone that Arthur – Arthuria – pulled out in order to become the King of England. The sword that was lost in history as Arthur fought many battles, the sword that slew dragons, the sword that led people into battle.

Certainly a beautiful sword, he thought. Even more beautiful than both Kanshou and Bakuya, and certainly more powerful as well. He could have called for Gram, but Caliburn was something that he knew, from the dreams he had of Saber and her past. And although those dreams were few and far between – they were replaced by dreams of swords and a hill filled with swords in the latter part of the War – he had glimpsed at it enough times to know what it really was.

He stabbed Caliburn through the ground on his left, right next to Kanshou. Before he raised his right hand, and this time, it wasn't a sword that appeared in his hands, but a black bow.

He frowned as he looked at the sleek black bow. It wasn't His bow; he hadn't seen it enough times to figure out what it was made of, or what it was used for aside from the obvious. But even then, he had glimpsed at it, and he had managed to recreate it. He hadn't used it before, and he doubted if he ever will. He just didn't know how to use it like He did. And it was a degraded version of His bow anyway, so what guesses he could have for the bow was probably wrong entirely. Such as the consequences of his powers, he could understand any weapon that he glimpsed at, yet at the same time. He needed enough time to figure out what it was, what it was made of, and what it was used for.

Kind of like a computer. His World was the hard drive, his brain was the CPU, and his eyes were the cable that transferred data from the CPU to the hard drive. Make him look away as he transferred data from his brain to his World, than you get a half-assed version of whatever he was Tracing.

Discarding the bow by throwing it the side, he decided that he was ready.

It wasn't like he didn't want to do this, but it was entirely abnormal for this to happen. He had Traced sword that could crumble mountains. He had Traced spears that could split the sky. Axes that split the ocean. Yet this abnormality in a sword was driving him crazy.

He didn't need to think, his World responded to him, and two swords appeared in front of him.

One was Hector, the bastardized sword/shield that he had Traced with Aoko and the Executor called Carrie next to him. The sword was still the same shape as before, still a large, brittle sword that looked more shield than sword.

The other, was the 'sword' he had seen stabbed in a man when he had been forcibly kicked out of the Doctor's room in the Clock Tower.

Now that he saw the sword again, he realized that the amalgamated sword/mace was almost the same as Hector. Save for the fact that it was just that. A sword with the memories of a mace.

Grasping the mace/sword in his right hand, he took a practice swing, and the thought of it being a regular sword just solidified in his mind. It was just as heavy as a sword, and it swung just as fast as one. If it weren't for the fact that he knew that it was really a mace with the form of a sword, he would have been inclined to think about that as well.

Examining the nameless sword in his hands, he finally realized just what it was used for.

Torture. Plain and simple torture.

When it was used on a person, not only will it stab them, but it will also powder whatever it was stabbed into. If it was stabbed in someone's shoulder, not only would it cause the person a nasty gash as the sword embedded itself into them, but the mace inside the sword would act as if it was the sword. Meaning that when it entered the body, the sword would turn into a mace and powder whatever muscle, bone, or artery that it was in its immediate area.

He cringed at the thought. This sword wasn't meant to kill, unless you deliberately aimed it at something vital. It was used to cause as much pain as physically possible without killing anyone.

It was a dreadful thought, but he couldn't deny the sword. It was something else. To combine two weapons into one, essentially creating a Conceptual Weapon that broke rules.

It was something else, not good, but something else.

Taking one last practice swing of the sword/mace. He saw Hector standing there in front of him. And after shrugging his shoulders, he decided to see what would happen if it hit something solid.

He raised the sword/mace slightly in the air, before he swung it down on the brittle form of Hector.

He expected sparks as the sword aspect of the sword/mace hit Hector. Or at the very least, a loud clang as the two swords met, a brief flashing of sparks, a shockwave to some extent.

What he got was none of the above. And it was this reaction that caused him to lose concentration and suddenly get thrown out of his World. The only thing he could see as his World drowned in whiteness was Hector exploding in a million pieces.

**XxX**

Snapping his eyes open, he was rewarded with the sight of the tent wall he was facing, accompanied by the massive headache that came from something getting forcibly 'deleted' from his World.

"The hell?" Was all he could say before he groaned in pain. That had been the first time he had something get 'deleted' from his mind.

"Okay," He said to himself as he leaned forward and clutched his head with his right hand. "Note to self: Never test a Concept by contradicting it." He groaned again.

Maybe he should have thought that through. But in his defense, Hector's memories were jumbled, and the only thing that could have really given him any clue as to why it was a bad idea was the fact that Hector was supposed to 'defend it's owner from intent to harm them'. He never expected Hector to explode as it tried to defend its owner from themselves.

Or in Shirou's case. Defend himself from himself. He idly wondered what would happen if He had been the one that attacked Hector, before shaking his head clear from that thought.

"_You've been out for awhile."_ He heard his native language being spoken from behind him, and he turned his head to see the middle-aged Shinji looking at him with a warm smile.

He rolled his neck around some, before he raised his head to glance at the wall clock that Aoko had put up in the tent before hand. It was with a slightly disgruntled groan did he realize that Shinji was telling the truth. As it was currently 10:34, he realized that he had been out for the better part of two hours.

"_You're companions have already eaten, but have decided to go around the camp for awhile. I've been asked by-" _Shinji paused as his face scrunched up slightly as he tried to recall something. _"Aoka? To tell you to eat dinner."_ He said, and Shirou could only shake his head in amusement.

"Aoko." He corrected him, and Shinji could only respond with an 'Ah!' before nodding his head. _"I take it you've just arrived now?" _He asked in Japanese. He may be proficient in English now thanks to Aoko, but that didn't mean that he wouldn't speak Japanese when there was a chance to do so.

Shinji shook his head at him, a small smile still visible on his face. _"I've been watching you for the better part of thirty minutes." _He explained, and Shirou could only raise an eyebrow at him questioningly. Shinji's response was to chuckle at him. _"I assure you I hold no ill-will. If I wanted you dead, I would have stabbed you as you were meditating. Though I doubt that your women would take that kindly."_

Even if the explanation was somewhat morbid, Shirou couldn't help but smirk a little. _"Yes, they would have your head for that." _He confirmed, and Shinji let out a small chuckle at his words.

"_Well, I shall try not to have them coming for my head then."_ Shinji said, his tone held mirth in it. _"Now come, we have prepared a meal for you. Though I fear that it is now cold, hopefully you don't find it unpleasant."_

Shirou smiled, before he steadily stood up, stretching as he did so. He turned around, and gestured for Shinji to lead the way. Shinji only smiled before turning around and walking out of the tent, followed closely by Shirou.

As they stepped out of the tent, Shirou noticed that it was silent, almost as if the World was still. The only sound he could hear was the crackling of the torches setup around the camp, as electricity itself wasn't viable since… Well, you know. Middle of the forest and all.

"_Most of my compatriots are asleep as of this time."_ Shinji explained, causing Shirou to turn to him as they continued walking towards the place that held Shirou's food.

"_We've long since figured that we should be well rested in the day, as we have no means of actually fighting a Dead Apostle in the night unless it's a new moon."_ Shinji explained as he continued to walk forward.

Shirou nodded his head at his words. _"That's a good idea." _He consented. _"I've heard that Dead Apostles are almost impossible to kill at night, and that the best chance of actually killing one at night would be during the day or on a new moon. Any other time would be suicide. Though I doubt that killing them would be the problem, people die if they are killed after all. It's what comes after they die is the problem isn't it?"_ He asked, and Shinji stopped for a brief second, forcing Shirou to stop walking as well as he looked at him with raised eyebrows. He reached out and was about to tap him on the shoulder, before Shinji began to walk again.

"_Close," _Shinji spoke, and Shirou snapped out his reverie and followed suit. _"But not entirely true. Dead Apostles cannot die at night. That is the simple truth; they will merely regenerate whatever killing blow we give them. Dead Apostle Ancestors even more so. But that doesn't mean we cannot defeat them at night." _Shinji explained, confusing Shirou at his contradicting words.

"_There is more than one way to defeat Dead Apostles countryman." _Shinji answered as if reading his mind, before he stopped in front of a tent and turned around. Facing the still pondering Shirou.

"_Your food is in here. I must apologize however, our caretaker for the day has retired to their own tent. Which leaves only you to clean-up for yourself. I trust you know how to do that?" _Shinji's question wasn't condescending, it was merely asking an honest question.

Shirou's response was to smile at him. _"Don't worry, I like cleaning."_ He assured him, earning a nod from the Executor.

"Very well," Shinji switched to English, and he could only look at him in confusion. "But I have to ask, what were you meditating on?" Shinji asked, and he scratched the back of his head. Completely uncomfortable discussing what he was doing when he had come to get him.

Seeing his discomfort, Shinji smiled slightly, his slightly wrinkled face showing some kindness in them. "I will not push you countryman." He said, before he let out a small sigh. "But at the same time, I cannot help but do that." Shirou looked up at him in confusion.

"I lead these men Shirou." Shinji gestured to the tents all around him, and he couldn't help but look at each one as Shinji's hands passed over them. "During the past week, I have lost men and women to the damnable Forest. Men and women I have fought with, bled with, eaten with, laughed with, and smiled with." He paused as he locked eyes with Shirou, and Shirou couldn't help but admire the steel resolve in the man's eyes. Though they looked weary, they held steel in them, steel to help his friends. It was… admirable.

"So forgive me if I ask a personal question, but I do it not because I want to, but because I need to. So I rephrase my question," Shinji paused, and locked eyes with Shirou once more. "Was what you were meditating on a problem shared?"

Shirou didn't respond right away. He only continued to look into the older man's eyes, not allowing himself to look away. For a few seconds, both didn't say anything.

"Yes," Shirou broke the silence. "It's a problem shared by both parties. Yours and mine." He said, before frowning at his words. "But that doesn't mean that it's going to kill anyone. I'm working on a way to avoid unnecessary deaths. I just ask you to have trust in my words that I will not cause harm to your comrades." He said before he walked past the older man and entered the empty tent. Not bothering to look back as he closed the flaps behind him.

**XxX**

Shinji stood outside the tent, he would have entered and asked him what if he knew what he was doing. But decided against it, seeing as he had the information he needed. He took one last look at the tent where his teenage countryman had entered, before shaking his head and walking away from it. If anything, he could at least trust the word of his countryman. Even if that was being idealistic and stupid for trusting a complete stranger.

"I take it you're satisfied?" A woman's voice sounded from behind the trees, and he stopped walking and turned to look at the direction from where the voice came from.

"Carrie." He said, and the blue haired woman appeared from behind the tree-lines. Her shawl still wrapped around her neck, but the breastplate no longer where it was. She still had the same smile on her face, a smile that seemed to shout that she was better than you and she would gladly show you why.

An ordinary man would have been infuriated at her words and her demeanor, but not him. He had long since grown to Carrie's rather condescending nature. A trait shared by Larry, though to a lesser extent. "Where's Larry?" He asked, and Carrie only gave him a much wider smile.

"Asleep. The poor things still a child after all." She responded, and he had to resist giving a derisive snort at her words. Larry was no mere child. He knew that, Carrie knew that, and the rest of the Executor's in this camp knew that. He would wager that those four mages knew about that as well.

"Oh don't give me that," Carrie began as she placed her right hand on her hips, almost like she was mocking hurt. "I know exactly how strong he is. No need to get your knickers in a knot."

At her words, he really did snort this time. But instead of continuing the conversation onto useless banter, he steered it into another topic all together. "What's your take on them?" He asked her, and Carrie gave out a small hum.

"That pony-tailed brunette is green as grass." She stated, and he found that he couldn't really deny her claim. "She's carries herself well, but she's too stiff. She hasn't been to too many fights, or if she's even been in fights at all. She's unbending, and I'd wager she'd be one to take the direct approach as well as that other brunette."

"You mean Aoko?" He asked, remembering the name that Shirou had given him awhile ago. He saw Carrie's lips turn upwards somewhat, and he raised an eyebrow in confusion. "What?"

Carrie laughed. "I didn't peg you as the kind to look for younger women." She teased. He sighed at her antics. He wouldn't respond, as that would only continue this useless conversation towards more baseless teasing.

"Oh boo, you're no fun at all." She stuck out her tongue as she stared at him. He frowned at her, and almost immediately, her teasing personality dispersed. "Oh fine, kill my fun every time will you?"

He smirked. "I try." He teased her, and she could only grumble profanities under her breath as she glared at him.

"Anyway," He interrupted her mouthing as he tried to steer the conversation back on track. "About Aoko?"

"She's dangerous. Probably the most dangerous out of all of those mages." Carrie answered immediately. He noted how she tensed slightly as she relayed that piece of information to him.

He was about to ask what she meant by that, but she interrupted him by answering his question before it escaped his lips. "She carries herself well. She's fought and killed before. And I don't mean those play fights," Carrie almost ground out the words, as if emphasizing them. "The way she carries herself just screams experience. I doubt even Larry can fight her alone."

He was surprised at that declaration, but decided to file that info away for later. There were two other magi that he needed to know about after all.

"Now her sister, that redhead… She's not real. She's made of wood of all things; I think she's some kind of puppet." Carrie answered as she straightened herself, staring into his eyes.

If she was expecting surprise to show, she was sorely disappointed.

Pouting at his lack of reaction, she shrugged her shoulders. "I'm guessing you already knew that huh?" She asked, and he could only nod his head.

"Ever since she came here." He answered in the deadest voice possible. He smirked slightly as she saw her mouth even more profanities under her breath. And noted that some words were 'spoiler', 'fun', and 'old man'.

Shaking his head at his compatriot's antics. He narrowed his eyes, immediately stopping the blue-haired woman from continuing her rant. "…And of the boy?"

"He's a liability." She answered as if it were rehearsed. "He's bound to do something stupid. From the way those women were staring down at him, they knew that he did something stupid, and was bound to do so again."

"Now I don't exactly know what kind of stupid this guy is, but if it makes three dangerous women stare at him in exasperation and he wasn't at all fazed by the consequences of that, then he's not just a liability, but a dangerously strong one as well." At her words, he straightened himself.

"You think he's dangerous?" He asked, and she nodded his head in confirmation.

"Yes. Not as dangerous as Aoko. But still dangerous if he's unfazed of three women staring down at him." He filed that information away for later, he had suspicions about Shirou, but if Carrie was telling him he was dangerous, it wouldn't hurt to have precautions.

"If they…" He hesitated for a moment, before he shook his head. "If they try and fight us, do you think we can win?" He asked, and seeing Carrie frown as she pondered on the answer for a few seconds, he knew that being defeated was within the realm of possibilities.

"Honestly?" She asked, he nodded. "No. Just from the boy, I know that I'll have a tough time killing him. Oh don't get me wrong, he can't kill me. But the chances of me actually killing him without him cutting my body to pieces is very low. If anything, I think the main problem is that Aoko." Carrie's words hissed as she said that last part.

"She's a Sorcerer Shinji." She said almost as a warning. "Nothing short of another Sorcerer or a True Apostle Ancestor can kill her. I wasn't kidding when I said that Larry will lose to her. She's scary strong. I can just feel it."

He frowned at her words, before he sighed and shook his head. "Regardless, they are here now." He decided he had enough of this conversation and now was a good time to call it a night. "We've been lucky so far with our testing of the Forest. But with those Magi here now, we actually have a chance of breaking through."

"I know that!" Carrie hissed as she crossed her arms over his chest. Her frown perfectly showing her annoyance at being told something obvious. "I'm just telling you as I see it. They aren't our comrades. They are people working towards the same goal. Take the phrase 'Enemy of my enemy is my friend.' Except remove the word 'friend' and replace it with 'un-trusted ally' and you have yourself a recipe of disaster."

"They're a ticking time bomb Shinji." Carrie said as she uncrossed her arms and started walking towards him. She passed by him, and he didn't turn towards her. Only listening to her footsteps as she retreated from the vicinity. "And I don't want to be here when they explode."

He heard her footsteps fading, before they disappeared completely. Sighing one last time, he decided he would think about this in the morning. He had a rather stressful day. Four magi appearing in their camp, and two were potentially dangerous and powerful enough to give the two strongest people in his camp a run for their money. Not to mention they were no closer to actually getting passed the Forest at all. He knew that the magi knew something about the Forest, and either they decided to keep it to themselves, or they weren't sure enough with their theory to share it with them. Either way, it was a bad. He only hoped that the tomorrow would be better.

So with positive thoughts for tomorrow, he turned and headed towards his tent. All thoughts of having a bad day now gone from his mind.

**XxX**

**Hot damn. Over 50 reviews on the last chapter. That's like… 50 more than 0! LOL**

**But in all honesty, that is just crazy! And not only that. I'm 'this' close to breaking the 100'000 views count. So come on people. Help me out with that!**

**Anyway. This chapter, we almost have the action. But it's just not there yet. The next chapter however, will definitely have it. And I promise you guys, it will be awesome.**

**And a little news. I'm currently rewriting the first chapter, or the prologue. I've taken another look at it, and decided that it wasn't up to par. I mean, it was awesome when I first wrote it. But looking at it right now, I see it's rather abysmal. Hopefully, it shouldn't take that long to rewrite it.**

**That's about it right now. What do you guys think of this chapter? Hopefully, it was worth the wait. And I've been having people telling me to remove Caster as a main character. I'm telling you right now. That ain't happening. Caster will be one of the main characters. But they won't be showing up for awhile. Rest assure, they will be revealed in a few more chapters. But right now, I'm keeping them as a main character. And oh yeah, I would add Aoko and Lorelei as main characters… If there was an option to do so. Seriously. Fanfic dot net should put up category for Nasuverse all together. It would make this so much cooler.**

**And oh yeah. I've made a Beast Lair account. I've been hesitant in making one for awhile, but decided that if I wanted to improve myself. I needed to get over that aversion and just go on. I don't know if I'll be posting my fics there, but hopefully in time, after I've cleaned this fic up some. I will.**

**Oh, and Mechanized Magus' next chapter will be slightly delayed. Why? It involves Microsoft word and rectangles… Again. Damn it.**

**Also, I've changed the summary. Care to tell me what you guys think about it? And also, since Shirou's body is made out of swords, doesn't that mean he can record himself into his own World? And wouldn't those Shirou's be able to record themselves as well? Holy hell, Shirou might be able to clone himself! (Don't take that seriously.)  
**

**C.O.Y.L out, peace!**


	17. Forest

**Edit: Derped up on the A/N at the bottom. Let me rephrase what I just said. It will be a Canon Servant. Now as to whether or not this Servant is a Canon Caster, that's for me to know, and you to figure out.**

**Disclaimer:**

**Lawyer Tom: If you want to keep your new motherboard, you out to say three words.**

…**And if I don't?**

**Lawyer Tom: Then you lose your motherboard.**

**I can always buy another…**

**Lawyer Tom: According to your latest money count, you have exactly-**

**No need! I own nothing!**

**Moar chapters!**

**I'm thinking of alternating between this fic, and Mechanized Magus. But then I remember, I have another fic in the works that involves ninjas and magi. So maybe that wouldn't be a good idea. And also Magi and their guild as part of a world of wizards. Yes. I have a hyperactive imagination.**

**Anyway, on with the show! I'll explain in detail the following scenes, just hope you guys don't eat me alive for doing something wrong. Also. Woot! 100'000 views.**

**XxX**

Her eyes scanned over the Forest. And in this particular Forest, even if it was the dead, there was no sound. No crickets chirping, birds nesting. There was nothing.

The only thing that reminded her that this Forest was once something green and overflowing with life was the grass on the ground. The Forest in front of her was unlike the forest behind her, where green overflowed with life, where birds happily nested and put their eggs in nests, and where crickets were free to chirp if they wanted to.

No, the Forest in front of her was not green. But steel grey.

Trees made entirely of swords, leafs that were handles, and even long grass as swords. She shook her head at that last statement. They weren't long grass, but they looked more like tombstones, stabbed into the ground and placed there as a sign of respect for whatever dead person lay there.

The moonlight reflected from atop the grey trees, and shone down on the Forest. It was a beautiful sight to be sure. The way the moon reflected on all those swords, it almost seemed like they were pieces of art, shined to cause gasps and amazement in people seeing it.

Of course, she had tried to Trace it. Like her teacher had taught her, but when she had done so. All she got was a headache and a dry mouth. She was unsure why her mouth was dry, but she decided to leave it for her teacher to figure out himself.

Teacher. That word had been steadily becoming prominent in her life.

Oh, she had teachers before. Some that were nice, some that were brutal, and some that decided she wasn't worth the time to teach. She was well-versed in teachers.

But he was different from the rest.

The red-haired man who was the same age as her if not younger, was someone who puzzled her greatly. He was not a great magus, he didn't even like calling himself as such, almost as if he was mortified with the idea of being one. The only thing that connected him with being a magus was the fact that he could use magecraft. And even then, he would count as third-rate as best.

Yet what made her so interested in him? What made the scion of a powerful old family so interested in someone that was leagues below her?

She didn't even know. All she knew that her grandmother had told her to keep close to him, to figure out herself what made him stronger than herself. When they had fought, and where she had lost, what made him keep going even though he didn't really have a chance of beating her in a straight up fight without resorting to surprises.

She had observed him for some time after their fight. Trying to figure out what her grandmother had told her about. What made him keep going even if he was bound to lose. What gave his brown eyes that unnatural golden glow as he stood up after a surprise wind whip to the back of his head. What made him look up at her defiance as he Projected her grandmother's trusted sword and use that sword as well as a bastardized Barthomeloi attack. What made him beat her; even if he was almost beaten himself.

It was strange for her. She had never thought about being beaten. All those hours training under her family, to be perfect. To be absolutely resolute in her movement, in her words, even the way she breathed. All were supposed to be perfect. In perfection lies victory, and in victory lies perfection. That had been her motto in life as she trained, as she listened to her teachers, to her trainers, to her aunts and uncles. Even her grandmother.

But, it turns out that her grandmother's view of perfection was drastically different from those of her other family members.

In defeat, you learn to yearn for victory, and in yearning for that future, you strive for perfection.

That was what her grandmother wanted her to know, yet. For some reason, she couldn't readily throw away what she had grown up listening to. For her grandmother, the first step to success was defeat, yet for her, perfection was victory. Yet, for some reason, she found that she couldn't refute her grandmother, even if her instructors had told her otherwise. From their teachings alone, perfection was the top. Yet for her grandmother, perfection was the bottom.

She let out an audible sigh –something that would have definitely earned her a reprimand should she have been home – as she tried to rack her brain for an answer. And in truth, she doubted if she would find an answer at all.

She looked out into the grey forest, her light footsteps didn't make any noise, and her thick white jacket seemed to blend into the Grey forest's reflection of the moon. The only thing that indicated that she was there in the first place was her brown hair.

She raised her right arm; the steel gauntlet attached to her hand was the only reminder of the start of her inner turmoil in the first place. She would have opted for no sleeves, but with the Forest's bounded field that made it almost impossible to enter as the cold would freeze you solid in a matter of seconds, she decided that she couldn't risk it.

Though she still kept the steel gauntlet on her arm, even if it was almost unbearable to wear in the first place due to the cold.

She gingerly took off the gauntlet, and, after setting the gauntlet down on the ground, she carefully examined her right arm.

It was still her right arm, the same arm she was born and raised with. The same arm she had used so many times that she forgot how important it was to her. It was her arm, yet, she felt that it was altogether another arm.

The moment that it was cut off, her problems started. Her thoughts began to form an inner hurricane of doubts, of surprise, and of questions. The moment that it was cut off by her teacher during their fight, it was the start of her questions.

Her mother told her that perfection wasn't…perfected. But perfection was strived for. True perfection wasn't the way she had been thought; her grandmother had told that it was more stagnation than perfection. For when they reached the peak, they would stay there. Allowing others to pass them if they stood still.

She opened and closed her exposed hand as her thoughts circled her mind. In truth, she still thought her grandmother was wrong. The teachings so deeply engraved into her was there for a reason, hours – nay – days of training to be perfect told her to keep at it. To keep going towards the top, never stopping.

Yet, she doubted that it was the right path as well. Her grandmother, she was old, she was experienced, and she was wiser than her by quite a large margin. If what she told her was true, all she really had to do to find the right answer was to keep close to her teacher, figure out what made him so defiant, and what made him topple perfection in the first place.

"So this is where you were." A familiar voice of a woman sounded from behind her. She turned around, and was met face to face with her teacher's teacher.

Redundant, she knew that.

Bending down to take her gauntlet back from the ground, she gave a questioning look to Aoko. Who responded by shaking her head. "Keep it off; you look like you have a lot on your mind anyway."

She narrowed her eyes at her. "And why would keeping it off make me think calmer?" She questioned Aoko's logic. But again, all Aoko did was give her a shake of her head.

"Because you've been affected by your arm by a large margin. I can tell that, Shirou can tell that, Touko can tell that, and I'm pretty sure it was your grandmother who made you affected by it in the first place." Aoko explained, and she fought hard not to let out a sigh in front of her.

She stayed silent, before she placed the gauntlet back on her hand, earning a shaking head from Aoko. She narrowed her eyes again, but Aoko didn't raise the situation anymore.

For a few seconds, both stayed silent, neither saying anything as they only stared at each other. Both brunettes eying the other with calculating gazes.

It was Aoko who broke the silence by sighing. "You're really weird you know that?" She said abruptly. And all she could do to respond was give her a questioning look.

"What do you mean?" She asked, unsure of what exactly Aoko meant by her words.

"You look like you're having an existential crisis." She stated as if that would answer her question. All that did however, was make her even more confused as she again gave her a questioning look.

"And that is weird why exactly? Isn't it perfectly normal for someone to be questioning their existence in the first place?" She asked, her tone challenging.

"That's the word," Aoko said as she gave her a small smile. "Perfect. That's why you're out here looking out at the swords – err – sword, right?" Aoko asked, and all she could do was stare at her blankly.

"Oh don't look at me like that." Aoko huffed as she crossed her arms over her chest. "It's obvious, it's written all over your face. 'I'm having a problem that I'm not sure how to solve even thought I'm supposed to be perfect!', that's what you're thinking right?"

Again, she could only look at her blankly. She was close, but it wasn't exactly right. She wasn't perfect, her grandmother knew that, and her family knew that as well. Even she knew that. Her problem wasn't being perfect, it was reaching perfection.

"No." She answered Aoko. She looked up at her red eyes, and bit her lower lip. Unsure of how to proceed with the situation.

"You can tell me you know." Aoko pushed, and she could only give her another questioning look. This time however, Aoko rolled her red eyes before she sighed and shook her head. "The student of my student is my student."

She blinked. "What?" Was her reply to Aoko's strange phrase.

Aoko just waved her hand dismissively, it was either a gesture to keep the topic on track, or to make sure she didn't have to explain the strange phrase in the first place. Or probably both. "Never mind, just tell me what's wrong." Her words weren't a request, but it bordered on a command. Something that didn't sit well with her.

"And why should I tell you that?" She challenged. "You aren't my teacher, and we are not friends." She stated coldly. But if she was looking for a flinch from Aoko, she didn't get one. She only got a blank stare.

"…You want to talk about this with Shirou?" Aoko asked in a flat tone, making her widen her eyes in surprise at her words. "Cause if you are, then I can go get him now. He is your teacher in the first place." Aoko kept going with her train of thought, making her shake her head nervously.

Aoko saw her shake her head, before she removed her arms away from her chest and began to walk towards her. "Besides," Aoko started as she reached her. "We've seen each other enough times for me to consider you a good acquaintance, even if we haven't really talked too much at all. So you can tell me if you're having problems." Aoko reasoned, and again, all she could do was look at her blankly.

"That doesn't make sense." She told Aoko, and Aoko only shrugged her shoulders.

"It does to me." Was all Aoko replied with, and again, she could only stare at her with a blank look.

For a minute, neither spoke. Only staring at each other, one with a blank disbelieving look, and the other with a nonchalant and almost bored one. She would have turned around and left right there, but the way Aoko had worded her sentences, almost as if she had been reading her thoughts made her slightly unnerved. Could she really be that easy to read?

"If you're not telling me, then I'm getting Shirou." Aoko pressed again, turning around this time and walking back towards where she had come from. She stopped her by lunging forward and grabbing hold of her wrist.

Aoko turned around with a knowing smirk on her face, and she cursed herself for getting played rather easily. "Fine," She finally conceded, her tone defeated as she let go of her wrist. "But first you answer my question."

Aoko tilted her head in confusion. For a few seconds, she didn't respond, but finally, she nodded her head with a small smile. "Sure, go ahead." Aoko urged her on.

"Why do you care?" She asked, and Aoko only gave her a blank look. She saw her open her mouth, but she interrupted her before she could speak. "And don't tell me it's because I'm Shirou's student," She warned. "You being his teacher doesn't have anything with what he's teaching me in the first place, you would know that."

Aoko shrugged her shoulders in response. "Yeah, I would." Aoko conceded. It was true after all. Shirou wasn't teaching her any time magic, all he was teaching her – all he thought her – Tracing. An odd magic to be sure, but nonetheless, it helped her immensely. Not just with her memories, but also with her concentration. And from Shirou's own lessons from his teacher, it was obvious that Aoko had been only giving him some basic lessons in her particular branch of magic in the first place. Which heavily involved clocks and time.

"But that doesn't mean that I can't involve myself with others." Aoko smiled at her. "That's what I figured out with Shirou anyway."

That caught her attention. "What do you mean by that?" She asked, honestly curious as to her answer. She saw Aoko shrug again, before she turned towards the grey Forest and looked out into it.

"I meant exactly that," She started, her tone soft. "Shirou's an idiot that would involve himself with others simply because he wants to. I mean, he's the only guy I know that would accept a job that he won't even do in the first place. He involved himself with Atlas, with the Executors, and when he first met me, with me and my own teacher." Aoko sighed, shaking her head as she seemed to remember that memory. "And let me tell you, he's both an idiot and an honest person."

Turning her head towards her, Aoko locked eyes with her. Her red eyes piercing her brown ones. "He's on a one-way track to destroying himself, and those around him with his actions." Aoko told her straightly, her tone serious as it left no room for question. "He involves himself with jobs that he has no intention of finishing in the first place, simply because it gives him the resources he needs to get his-" Aoko paused, as if wondering what word would be appropriate. "-Ideal. Yeah, that sounds right. Resources he needs to make his idea come to life. It's both stupid and absolutely impulsive. He goes on jobs that doesn't only threaten his life, but also those around him."

Aoko sighed again. Averting her gaze back towards the Forest. "But that's the thing." Aoko began, her tone soft. "Even if he's like that, he isn't wrong. You know the reason why he took the job in the first place right?" Aoko asked, and she nodded. Aoko saw her nod, and let out a small smile at that. Though her face was still turned and the darkness obscured her face somewhat, she could still make out her soft smile. "Good, cause that's the reason he involves himself with others. Something that I both admire and abhor, yet, I find that I can't help but emulate him somewhat."

Again, Aoko turned towards her, her smile brighter this time. "And that's my answer." She told her. "I care because Shirou would. It isn't wrong, and it doesn't hurt anyone but me."

For a few seconds, she didn't say anything. She only stared at Aoko with a blank gaze. Before long however, she finally let out an audible and visual sigh. "Very altruistic." She commented. And Aoko's response was to grin at her.

"Don't you mean 'Very Shirou'?" She joked, and she couldn't quite help smirk a little at her words.

Again, silence descended upon them, but unlike the previous ones, this was companionable. It wasn't awkward, nor was it filled with apprehension, it was simply… quiet.

"Alright," She finally conceded. "I'll answer your question."

For what felt like hours for her, she spoke. She told Aoko her troubles, all her thoughts, all her doubts that appeared ever since meeting Shirou and having her arm cut-off. All the while Aoko listened intently, only cutting her off to ask questions that were both relevant, and irrelevant.

She released every frustration she had, though she never shouted, and only awaited Aoko's reaction after she was done talking. To her surprise however, Aoko's words were only one sentence long. But it was the longest sentence of her life.

"Oftentimes," Aoko began, her voice low as she stared at her. "When people change, the only one that doesn't notice is the one that caused the change in the first place, as well as the person changing as well."

Wit those words, Aoko walked away, never looking back as she walked past the tree-line and towards the direction of the camp. Leaving her alone to her thoughts, again.

Strangely enough though, she didn't feel apprehension anymore.

**Fate: Zero/Night**

**XxX**

"Are you sure this is going to work?" Aoko asked, and he could only stare at her blankly.

"No." He told her truthfully, and again, Aoko gave him a dead look as she sighed and shook her head in exasperation.

"Then why are we doing this in the first place?" He turned towards the other voice, his student Lorelei asked from behind him. He only gave her a shrug, almost as if dismissing her question as irrelevant. And though he answered, it was with a tone that suggested he was stating the obvious.

"Because it's needed to." He told her straightly, earning him a scowl from his student before she looked away from him. Her head turning towards the Forest as she tried hard to ignore him.

"That's all well and good," He heard Touko's voice and turned towards her. He saw her approaching with two Executors – Carrie and Shinji – both had thoughtful expressions on their faces as they approached with Touko. "But you're forgetting what the swords are made of in the first place."

"Sword." He corrected almost as if on autopilot. Touko scowled, but didn't bother trying to get angry at him. He coughed as he tried to clear away his nervousness before he turned towards the Forest itself.

He stared at it with a frown. In all truth, what he was about to do was stupid, and something that even he couldn't approve of. Though the Forest only consisted of one sword, it held multiple forms. Forms that were made of Prana, forms that had physical shape, and forms that would explode if he continued on with what he was about to do.

He grimaced slightly at the thought. The resulting Prana explosion would be devastating if he was truthful. The sheer number of the forms of Hector made sure of that. And though the swords themselves weren't really trouble if they were alone, trees made from hundreds of not thousands of swords was enough to cause an explosion equal to a car bomb going off.

Now, since the Forest of Steel itself had over a hundred trees…

He shook his head clear. He turned back towards Touko, a small frown on his lips as he tried to recollect his thoughts. If he was recalled correctly, there wouldn't be explosions in the first place. Only a great saturation of Prana as mana and Od escaped into the air… with a very forceful way of escaping… In other words, an explosion.

He sighed. "I can't guarantee what I'm about to do in the first place will work, but it's the only thing that I could actually think of." He told everyone as he closed his eyes and uttered a single line. "Trace On."

A flash of light erupted from his right hand, and after a second, it died down to show an iridescent jagged dagger that looked like it belonged more as a showpiece than anything.

"Projection?" He heard his fellow Japanese man speak. He didn't respond to him, he only raised the damned dagger towards his face as he stared at it with a mixture of anger and disgust.

Rule Breaker. The dagger that was used by Medea of Colhis. A dagger that reverted any and all magecraft to its most basic stage. He had no idea what it would do with Hector, but hopefully, it would clear the entire Forest in one go.

"Rule Breaker," He spoke the name, but didn't activate it. He turned towards the others as he raised it to show them the dagger. "A dagger that reverts all magecraft to its most basic stage, or rather, its primordial stage. It's the ultimate anti-magic weapon I can think of." He told them, and he was met with a mixture of faces that ranged from awed, impressed, and calculating.

For a few seconds, no one spoke. Everyone could only stare at either him, or the dagger as they tried to recollect their thoughts. He couldn't blame them for it, after all. He just Projected something that would cause any and all magi to quiver in fear as they stared at it.

Surprisingly however, it wasn't any of the adults that broke the silence. But rather, it was the child called Larry. His presence so far ignored as he stayed quietly behind a tree. "A Noble Phantasm?" Larry had asked, and that seemed to open up the metaphorical floodgates as everyone else started to question him of why he had that thing in the first place.

He raised a hand to stop all the questions. "I can't answer why I have it," He told them truthfully. "And I can't guarantee that it'll work in the first place. Hector is a strange sword, the strangest sword that I know of, barring divine constructs. I don't even know if Rule Breaker could possibly work at all." He told them all truthfully before sighing. "But it is the only thing that I can do. Worst case scenario, the Prana in Hector will explode and it'll cause a minefield to start exploding. Best case, the swords will just turn into Prana and harmlessly disperse in the air. Either way, we can survive both scenarios."

"And what makes you so sure of that?" Carrie asked, the same smile on her face as she stared at him. Again, he had to resist shivering at seeing that smile.

"I'm not." He grimaced at his answer. He didn't really like this kind of solution, but so far, after he had re-recorded Hector into his World, the only plausibly thing he could think of doing was using Rule Breaker and reverting it back to its most basic form. And even then, he had no idea what would happen if that was what he opted to do. First off, Hector was an amalgamation of multiple swords, all having different starting points. From what he could initially discern, Hector had swords both made of magecraft, regular smith works, and also re-imaging of other swords as well. Rule Breaker could very well make more swords than revert them.

In conclusion, Rule Breaker was a gamble. A gamble that had all their chips on the table, while having their opponent check with the least amount of money needed. Rule Breaker could possibly destroy all the swords in one go, or it could create even more swords as each form of Hector reverted back into their originals and threw the concept of Hector away. Or if they were really unlucky, Rule Breaker would take away all the physical forms of Hector in the Forest, and leave only the Prana to saturate the air. Meaning an explosion.

Yeah, that was the reason he was having second thoughts about this. He already regretted saying that he possibly had a way to bypass the entire thing in the first place.

"This could either turn our situation into a really, really good one," He paused as he stared at Rule Breaker again. Anger and annoyance flaring within him as he did so. "Or it could turn it into a really, really bad one."

He felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned and was met face to face with Aoko's serious look. "It's your call Shirou." Aoko gave his shoulder a reassuring squeeze. "Either way, we're with you." She finished. And all he could do was give her a small smile in response.

Aoko let go of his shoulder as he nodded at her. He took two steps forward and was now in front of the border of the Forest of swords with the regular greenery. It was odd, the swords abruptly stopped in an invisible line, a line that made no sense whatsoever.

He shook his head clear, no. He needed to focus. Preparing the gun in his head, he readied the only shield that he could trust in his World. And although he couldn't perfectly replicate the Aias, he knew enough about it to at least gather three or four petals. Hopefully, three or four fortress walls would be enough just in case the Forest exploded.

He turned around and gave everyone one last look over. He saw Aoko nod at him, Lorelei give him her own small one, Touko giving him a blank stare as the lighted cigarette in her mouth slowly burned down, Carrie still giving him that indecipherable smile, Shinji just observing with an almost nonchalant expression, and Larry the child looking up at him in wonder. He briefly looked over the other Executors behind the tree-lines, he spotted his escort from yesterday standing some distance away from his group, but he could see the obvious nervousness he had as his body fidgeted slightly under the trees.

Nodding one last time, he turned back towards the Forest. The sunlight gleaming through the tops of the trees, both wooden and steel. He raised Rule Breaker slightly, not enough to have it overhead, but enough to have it eyelevel with him. He held it backhanded, the jagged iridescent blade gleaming as the sunlight hit it.

He took one last breath, before he activated the Noble Phantasm.

"Rule Breaker!" He brought the dagger down on the nearest Hector, and the world exploded in white.

**XxX**

Maiya grimaced slightly as she sat on the bed given to her.

Truth be told, she wasn't grimacing out of nervousness. She was grimacing because she had an uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach. And it wasn't because of the Sorcerer just outside the Forest. No, it was because ever since she had returned to the room she shared with the homunculus Riza, she had noticed that she seemed… off.

"Something… Wrong?" Riza asked as she tilted her head to the side as she stared at her. Well, off-er.

She didn't respond to Riza's question, and instead, continued to drum her fingers on keys of the laptop she had in front of her. She wasn't one to waste time, but right now. She had nothing else to do but that.

Her plans were scrapped and thrown out the window the second Aemulo's aide had told them there was a Sorcerer waiting for them outside of the Forest. All her contingencies, all her what-if scenarios, and all her plans just weren't feasible right now. And, as much as she wanted to rationalize the situation, as much as she kept telling herself that there was just no indication that a Sorcerer would come here, she found that she couldn't at all. Her teacher had told her to expect the unexpected. And just because something didn't seem possible, or plausible, that didn't rule out that there was a possibility of it happening. From a bee stinging your eye as you were in a gunfight, to a small meteor falling right in front of you and blocking your escape path. Everything was possible, and you always needed a contingency.

True, it did sound absolutely ridiculous. Why would a bee be in the middle of a firefight in the first place? Why would a meteor suddenly pop out and land in front of their escape route? And why would a Sorcerer just randomly show up in the middle of a job and attempt to stop them? It was ridiculous to think about it, to even rationalize that it would happen. But her teacher had only looked at her as she asked all those questions and gave her a question to her question.

"What's more plausible, you dying to an impossible scenario, or you escaping due to your plans going your way every time?"

Needless to say, she didn't argue it anymore at that point.

And as she drummed her fingers on the keys of the keyboard, she found herself sighing as she stared out the window. Oh she could fight the Sorcerer, of that there was no doubt. She had _that _gun on her after all. Worst come to worst, she uses it and she cripples a Sorcerer. But that wasn't what was needed; she needed to finish the job. She would save Aemulo and his aides.

She grimaced slightly as she heard that sentence in her mind. Save… Such a strong word to use for this scenario. But ultimately the right one. Her mentor thought her that you cannot save everyone. That you could only save those on your side. That was what a hero was. A savior to one side, and a mass murderer on the other. So for now, she would work her hardest to save Aemulo and complete the job.

That is, until he starts killing innocents. Then she would freely use _that _gun on him. She'd be able to rip his circuits in half, and then tie them back together. Hopefully, he wouldn't understand what was happening until she was in front of him with a pistol right in his face.

Of course, when she said innocents, that didn't mean the Executors. No offense to them, but that was their job, and this was hers. They were on separate ends of the spectrum, they would try and kill her client, while she would defend her client from getting killed and safely escorting him to his destination. And defending sometimes meant killing those that were looking to kill her client. It wasn't anything personal, it was all business.

She let out another sigh, now she was losing focus. She needed to figure out a contingency. A way to get Aemulo out of here without running into the group of Executors as well as the Sorcerer. Thankfully, what stood between them and the potentially soul-rending Sorcerer was the Forest of Steel. But that was also a bad thing.

The geography of the entire forest – the green one – showed that the only logical place for them to leave was through the Executors. They were close to the sea, and although they couldn't rightly see it from this castle, should they head south or west, they would eventually run into the sea. The only logical place for them to run was north and east, and given that it was blockaded by Executors, that meant they were stuck in this castle until she managed to figure out what they would do.

It was this problem that made her thoughts wander. She had spent the entire part of last night trying to discern what they would do, and she hadn't gotten any closer to it than she were to the moon. It was annoying, and it could possibly cause them their lives. But she couldn't think of anything, as much as she wanted for a solution to fall right into her lap, she wasn't that optimistic. She needed to figure out the solution on her own, to make the answer fall on her own lap.

She idly wondered if what she needed to do was to leave Aemulo to die, but then thoroughly squashed that idea. She couldn't leave the Forest if she were to do that, Aemulo would make sure of that.

But as she continued to rack her head for a solution, a sudden ringing, almost like a metal ball hitting a metal sheet, echoed around the room. No, it wasn't echoing around the room, the sound was just loud enough to make it seem like it echoed.

She stood up and immediately dashed towards her window, what she saw, or rather, what she didn't see made her break into a cold sweat.

The Forest filled with swords, that was made out of entirely grey leaves and grey wood, was gone. Replaced by the natural color of the green grass hidden underneath it.

"Something… Wrong?" She heard Riza ask as she felt her look out through the same window. She didn't answer immediately, only opting to stare out into the forest, all thoughts stopped as she tried, _tried_, to think of something to do.

If she had her voice, if her thoughts were more collected, than she would have answered the homunculus. And her answer would probably be, 'Everything.'

**XxX**

"That was anti-climactic." Shirou heard Aoko comment from behind him, and he couldn't help but agree with what she had said.

He expected an explosion, or a blinding flash of light accompanied by stagnant air from the Prana that was released. He got the flash of light, and there was definitely some stagnation in the air as the Prana moved to separate into mana and Od. He even had a bonus, there was a pinging noise.

But all in all, he had been left thoroughly disappointed at the conclusion of what he had done. Maybe he overestimated the Forest, or maybe he had underestimated Rule Breaker.

He shook his head clear, the Forest was clear; all that was left was to storm the castle. He turned around, and he was met with the curious expressions of multiple Executors, a smiling face from Aoko, and scowling faces from both Touko and Lorelei.

"Well," He began quietly as he turned back around, he waved an arm in front of the now empty clearing, and then pointed at the outline of the castle right in the middle of the clearing. "It's clear." He finished, rather lamely now that he thought about it.

"That's some explosion Shirou." Aoko said with a smile. He knew that she was teasing him, and that responding to her mirth would only add fire to the flames. So he kept his mouth shut and just scratched the back of his neck.

"I really didn't expect that to happen." He said truthfully. "And to be honest, I expected something more." He paused as he got a strange look from Aoko. He shook his head at her. "Not that I wanted the explosion mind you!" He defended himself as he sighed. "It's just that, with how easy that was, and knowing my luck, this is just the advent of something bad. Really bad." He emphasized.

Aoko just rolled her eyes. "So what? You're superstitious now?" Aoko asked, her tone light. Aoko then walked up towards Shirou, and put a hand on his shoulder as the Executors that had hidden themselves behind the trees emerged and began to walk towards the castle. "You don't have to be so paranoid. We trusted you, and you delivered. No need to get technical." Aoko stated as she pat his shoulder and then walked past him. All with a smile on her face.

Maybe she was right? I mean, just because he hadn't had much luck in the supernatural, doesn't' mean that it'll continue now. If anything, his luck, if he even had some, was bound to change. So what if his first major incident with the supernatural world was getting thrust into a War where Magi killed each other. So what if he had been stabbed through the heart because of seeing something he didn't see? So what if he had been killed – almost killed – by a future version of himself? So what if that future version of himself had told him about his ideals? So what if he was the only person in the World that was the natural counter to the natural counter of all the Heroic Spirits? I mean, it's not like he was _that_ unlucky… right?

It was at this point that he felt the air suddenly freeze. All the mana suddenly froze in the air, and he could feel some of them vibrate I the air. His eyes widened in realization as the mana suddenly started to coalesce, joining together as they approached the ground.

"Aoko!" He shouted in panic as he ran forward and grabbed Aoko by the waist.

"Wha-?" He heard Aoko shout in surprise as his arms wrapped around her waist, but he didn't have time to explain. Grabbing the arm wasn't feasible now, they were both too far for him to just pull at her. So if pulling her wasn't enough…

"Hrgh!" He struggled as he twisted his body, Aoko joined his twist, and soon, he let go. Throwing Aoko clear of the incoming mana. It was inelegant, but if it got the job done, then that would be enough.

As soon as he threw Aoko, he ran forward, all the while shouting towards the Executors that were in the vicinity of the previous Forest. "Stop! Turn back!"

His words stopped the incoming Executors from taking another step forward. If he was paying attention, he would have noticed their raised eyebrows, confused looks, and scratching fingers.

He didn't have time to pay attention.

In a flash of light reminiscent of when he had used Rule Breaker on Hector, another flash erupted. And another pinging noise sounded.

A sharp pain erupted from his right leg as he tried to run, and another pain erupted from his leg as he clutched his right.

"Damn it!" He managed to shout as he focused Prana into his body. He didn't have time to think, he needed to defend his body from getting pierced. Something to make the swords brush past his body.

An idea flashed in his mind, and he didn't think as he immediately put it into action.

"**I am the Bone of my Sword!"** He shouted, and he could feel his World churn within him. He paid it no heed and only focused on the one sword that could possibly keep him alive.

Bringing it into the forefront of his mind, he threw out his right hand as he felt his thighs get pierced. He idly noticed his command seals glowing a red hue, but didn't pay it much heed as he shouted the only spell that could save him. "Trace On!"

His body erupted, and he shouted in pain.

**XxX**

**I am an evil bastard ain't I? Muhahahaha!**

**Shorter chapter compared to the last one. But this one is a major one. It's the start of Shirou's…. changes? Yeah, let's go with that.**

**Anyway, the Maiya scene in the middle of this is something that will be explained in the next chapter. As it looks useless here, but it's the start of something happening inside the castle in the first place.**

**And as for Rule Breaker not working on the Forest? It worked. Believe me it worked. But at the same time, it didn't. Again, the next chapter will explain what happened, and what will happen to Shirou.**

**And again. 100'000 views… Damn it guys. That's friggin' amazing. 400 reviews as well, and almost 800 alerts. And almost 700 favs. I am 'this' close to 1k on both. And damn it, I'm still blown away from those kinds of numbers.**

**To clear up some things as well. I'll tell you guys who Caster will NOT be. It will not be Medea, as much as I like her, she isn't the Caster of this story. It will not be Alice, nor will it be the foxy Caster in Extra. It will not be anyone from Apocrypha as well. But it will be a canon Servant. So just wait m'kay? I won't take down that main character just because they haven't appeared yet. And this chapter does have an indication as to who it will be. Try and find that subtly thing.**

**Anyway, that's it. My pc is going haywire again, and I have no idea when I'll get the next chapter done. I'm thinking of taking a break for a week. Just to rest my fingers. But then I realize, I'd have nothing to do.**

**C.O.Y.L out, peace!**


	18. The Same

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

**Lawyer Tom: I didn't have to remind you about it anymore. Good job.**

**Yeah well, that just means you aren't needed here anymore.**

**Lawyer Tom: Wait wha- *Pops out of existence**

**Yes! He's gone! Now I don't have to keep putting up disclaimers anymore!**

***Lawyer Tom pops back into existence: You just gave me a reason to stay.**

**Damn it.**

**You know, I'm kind of liking that I learned how to read Japanese. Albeit really slowly. I just recently played a VN, Yosugu no Sora. Maybe you guys have heard of it?**

**The story was amazing, and though it held some… 'things' that would cause you to raise your eyebrow in astonishment. The characters are well executed and believable. I especially liked Kazuha and Sora. And Kazuha's route ending just made me think, "What is the aftermath her route?" Now, I won't say much as a way to not spoil any of you guys that might be reading the VN or watching the anime. But I do wonder how would Sora react to Kazuha's ending. Would it take another route entirely? Or would it end with just Sora doing… Yeah, don't wanna think about that.**

**And another great VN for all my readers. Read Majikoi. It only has the partial patch, but seriously. I am in love with the characters there. They are just so… Dynamic. That's the best word I could use to describe the cast of Majikoi. It also has a fandisk, but no one's translating it. Well, some are, but it's been stuck at 43% for a long time now. Damn it, I want more Wanko. I guess I'll save up for Japanese language lessons. Both reading and speaking. It's a good time too, since I'm about to move to Japan to watch over my grandpapi and grandmami. Not joking here, they're both old and live alone. Someone has to take care of them. I volunteered.**

**Again I've got the urge to write, and again I'm writing even after I said I would take a week-long break. Meh, no helping me at all.**

**And with that said, on with the story!**

**XxX**

"You don't have to be so paranoid. We trusted you, and you delivered. No need to get technical." She said as she pat him on the shoulder before walking past him. She idly noticed his confused face, wondering if she had gotten through to him, before she brushed that thought aside. As far as she saw, the Forest was as good as gone, and Shirou really had gotten a way past the entire thing.

Of course, the fact that he had something that could cancel magecraft was eyebrow-raising, but they would handle that later. Deal with the difficult parts later. First, you face the problem.

And as she took her fourth step on the newly cleared Forest, Shirou's voice stopped her in her tracks. "Aoko!" She heard him scream, and she turned around to look at him. His voice had sounded frantic, panicked even, was something wrong?

"Wha-!" She was about to ask what the problem was, but the sudden feeling of being hugged, of arms suddenly wrapping themselves around her body stopped all thought processes.

Before she could even react, before she could even think even, she suddenly felt her weight shift as the arms around her pulled her backwards. She didn't even have time utter a surprised squeak, before she was suddenly and violently thrown back several feet away. She noticed that it was Shirou that threw her as she caught a glimpse of him, his eyes wide and panicked.

And as she was about to land, bracing herself, she heard Shirou scream at the top of his lungs. "Stop, turn back!" He had shouted, and she could feel his panic and fear, even after she had landed on the ground.

As she steadied herself, she started to steadily get up, but before she could fully stand up, a bright flash of light made her cover her eyes with one arm. A pinging sound also reverberated as she covered her eyes.

"Damn it!" She heard her student shout through the flash, and though she couldn't see him, she could hear that his voice was strained, almost as if he was hurt.

She heard flesh getting pierced, but didn't pay much attention to it. As words that seemed to… weaken the world echoed through the pinging noise.

"**I am the Bone of my Sword."** She heard Shirou's shout, but even then. His voice sounded different, almost deeper. The light started dying down, and she managed to catch a glimpse of her student as she brought her arms down. She saw him stretch his right hand forward, she saw the faint glowing coming from the back of it, and she heard him shout two words as swords erupted from the ground and go up towards his thighs.

"Trace On!" He shouted. And immediately after, he screamed in pain.

She didn't even register that gleaming white sword flying past her face, mere inches away from actually stabbing itself on her face.

**Fate: Zero/Night**

**XxX**

He didn't know where he was. This wasn't his World, heck; this didn't even look like the real world.

He could hear the sound of gunfire, of people screaming, of bombs falling, and of swords meeting. He couldn't see the sky as the fog of war obstructed the beautiful blue sky that was hidden behind it. Even the sun's light barely reached the ground he was on.

He looked around, but the smog prevented him from seeing anything more than ten feet in front of him. He knew that there were people out there, in the smoke. He could hear them, he could feel them, and although he couldn't see them, he could definitely picture them there.

He didn't know why they looked like shoulders in his head however.

He turned around, trying to look for something that he couldn't see. He didn't know what, but it felt right to look for it.

And as he kept looking, he could hear that the sounds of bullets had gotten softer… No, that wasn't right. They were still the same volume, but they like there were less than before. In fact, the sounds of people screaming had all but died down as well, bombs felt more distant, and the swords grew silent.

Soon enough, there was only silence. He was almost afraid he had gone deaf as it was that quiet. The only thing that suggested that he could still hear was the sound of his heartbeat, and even then, it sounded like it was a distant drum.

The smog hadn't cleared at all, but he could now feel it lifting somewhat. He took one step forward, and then another, and then another after that. And soon, he was walking at a brisk pace as the smog started clearing around him.

But even then, when the smog had cleared enough for him to see fifteen to twenty-five meters away from him. He didn't see anything. Only smog, dirt, and swords.

Wait, swords?

He looked around once more, and now that he had consciously noticed it, he could now see swords, all riddled around the dirt. Some were lying on the dirt, leaning onto others as they supported each other. Some were stabbed into the ground like tombstones, looking like they hadn't been used in a while. And some were even upside down, their hilts buried deep into the ground as their blades hung in the air surrounded by smog.

He saw each and every sword, and he was surprised that he knew every last one of them. From Calburn over there, leaning onto Gram as they supported each other, forming a triangle with the ground as their blades touched each other. To Rule Breaker stuck to the ground, unmoving as its blade was stabbed deep into the ground. He could also faintly see Harpe, the sickle sword used by Perseus to slay Medusa, lying down on the ground.

Swords, swords that he knew were steadily appearing all around him. In flashes of light that shone through the smog, they appeared all around him.

Soon enough, the smog cleared altogether, and the place he thought that he was in, his World. Turned out was not his World at all.

Hundred if not thousand meter tall gears hung in the sky, churning against each other as they moved. The smog was definitely still there, but it was lighter in comparison to before. The red sky that was almost like the sunset's sky glowed a diluted red. And the ground was dead, no grass, only brown dirt.

He knew this place, it was His World, the World that had tried to kill him. That had tried to kill him and his Servant. It was His World. It was Archer's World.

A grunt sounded from behind him, and he turned around immediately. He saw a sight that made him hitch in his throat.

There, on a hill surrounded by swords around, inside, and stabbed through him. Was Archer himself. The sight made him remember, remember when he had first seen this scene. When he had fought Archer, Ideal against Ideal. He remembered.

Another flash of light, and Bakuya appeared right next to Archer's impaled body. Floating in the air and pointed directly at him.

He didn't have time to react, as gravity suddenly started to reverse, he found himself flying at Bakuya at breakneck speeds.

The only thing he managed to say as he passed by Archer's body and saw his tanned face and white hair. The only words he could have said at that scenario, "Again?"

He was then stabbed through the stomach as he finally reached Bakuya. Strangely enough, there was no pain.

**XxX**

His eyes snapped open, and almost immediately, he regretted it.

He had to shield his eyes with his hands as a light suddenly entered, he oddly noted that even though they were in a forest where the trees branched out and blocked off the sun, the light seemed just as bright – if not brighter – than the regular sun.

"…aking up…ill disoriented…" He could make out a voice that was familiar to him, though he couldn't quite place the name of the owner. He moved his arms aside so that he could see more clearly, even if he didn't quite enjoy the sight of a big bright blob shining down on him.

He tried to move, but found that his hands were restrained, he tried to move his feet as well, but they too were held down by something. He couldn't place just what was tying him down, but it felt more intrusive than leather, but less stronger than chains.

As he squirmed around some, he felt something that made him suddenly wish he could move his arms. Arms that he would then use to place on the object.

That object seemed to be protruding from his stomach.

He moved his head, and even though his neck was restrained, he could faintly make out the sight of a white blade sticking into his stomach, though for some reason. He felt no pain from it, in fact, he felt like it belonged there in the first place.

"…on't move…much…ou are still…" Again, the same voice from before, this time, much more clearer than before. He still couldn't place a name for the voice, but he could at least tell it belonged to someone he knew.

He shook his head, before he focused his mind towards the sword in his stomach, he didn't know why it didn't hurt. But he couldn't leave it there. Closing his eyes, he ignored the voices around him, and focused on banishing the sword.

He knew which sword it was, it was the same sword he saw in His World, the World where he saw weapons, where he heard bombs, where he heard bullets flying, and where he saw Him on a hill, stabbed through with weapons. Again, he knew that wasn't the first time he saw him like that, he had seen that scene before, when he had first observed Him using the two twin swords Kanshou and Bakuya, and when they had fought, when his memories flooded into him. How could he forget anyway? That was the day he knew that his belief wasn't wrong, that he should continue forward.

Refocusing on the blade, he calmly urged it to vanish. And thankfully, it did. In a flash, it reverted to mana and dissipated into the air. He felt his body re-stitching itself as the absence of the blade opened up a deep wound.

Wait, re-stitching?

He glanced at his body, at the part of his stomach where the blade had been embedded into, and was surprised to see his wound healing. And even though he couldn't quite make out what was happening, he could still very much see his body starting to stitch itself together.

The hell was happening?

He felt the restraints around his neck and arms vanish, followed closely by the restraints on his legs. He reopened his eyes, and this time, he managed to figure out who the previous voice belonged to.

"Aoko." He managed to say, and although his voice was hoarse, it still held some semblance of worry in it. He didn't know if he had managed to clear her from the Forest, but thankfully, she was right in front of him with no scratches. Meaning he had at least cleared her away from danger.

"Geez," Aoko muttered as she stared at him, her eyes shining with worry. "You scared me there. You could have at least told us that the Forest would regenerate." Aoko scolded, though it lacked any sort of tone in it. It was only relieved.

"Sorry," He managed to mutter as he looked down at his stomach, and was surprised again to see that the wound that had been there before, was now completely gone. Replaced by a patch of skin with no traces of blood left. "I didn't think that it would do that. Turns out, 'Denial of nothingness' applies to its origins." He explained.

He placed a hand on his stomach, and stayed quiet for a little while. Before he turned towards Aoko again, he was dreading the answer, but he hoped that it wouldn't be high. "Aoko."

Aoko turned towards him, and she frowned. It looked like she knew what he was going to ask, but nonetheless, waited for him to continue. "Did anyone…" He paused as he licked his dry lips. "Did any of the Executors that entered escape?"

Aoko didn't answer immediately, she only looked straight into his eyes. Her crimson red eyes boring into his golden brown ones. After a few seconds passed, Shirou thought that Aoko wouldn't answer his question. But thankfully, someone else did.

"Six managed to escape." He heard a cold voice sound from the darkness, he turned his head, and found that the voice belonged to Shinji. His dull eyes now seemed duller, and though his back was straight, Shirou could see some semblance of fatigue in his body language. "Leon, Errol, Carol, Darrel, Tristan, and Geoffrey." Shinji listed names in a monotone voice, almost as if he was used to doing so. "Out of the seventeen that had entered the cleared Forest, only six managed to escape. Two of which, Errol and Tristan, are in critical condition."

Shirou would have winced had it not been for the fact that turning away from Shinji right now would be… wrong. He could lock eyes with the older Japanese man, and though the man had an apathetic look in his them, he knew that he was somewhat disappointed. Whether it was at him, or at the situation, he didn't know.

"…What happened?" The tone Shinji used surprised him. It was bordering on pleading, almost as if he wanted – he needed – to know. This time, Shirou looked away.

"The Forest. It couldn't not exist." He tried to explain, and though his explanation was pathetic. It was the best he could come up with. "It was denied the concept of 'nothingness'. I knew that. I knew that, but still-"

"-But you still went through with it." Shinji finished for him, and he could only nod his head. Of all the things he thought of, explosions, Prana saturation, still air, he didn't think that the concept of nothing was as strong as that.

It was simple. Hector was a sword that didn't exist, yet still existed within Gaia. Now normally, Gaia would crush whatever anomaly there was in the World. Whether this was a repeat of a single person, or something small as an extra molecule. But Hector, it didn't exist. The concept of being 'Nothing' was never part of the equation for it. Meaning that if it was destroyed, if it was decomposed, or if it was reverted to its origin, it would just deny that. That it was destroyed into nothing, that it was decomposed into nothing, or that it was reverted into nothing. It would reject the 'Nothing' and simple re-forge itself to exist.

He knew that it had the concept of 'Nothing' removed. After all, his target had supposedly had research into the First magic, the 'Denial of Nothingness'. What he didn't know however, was the fact that 'Nothing' was such a strong concept.

It was his fault. Eleven people died simply because he didn't factor in the power of 'Nothing.' Which was ironic, since 'Nothing' was another term for zero. Maybe his logical side had worked and simply ignored 'Nothing' because he had thought it was synonymous to zero?

"This blood isn't on my hands," He refocused on Shinji. He wasn't surprised to see that his apathetic stare had turned into a heated glare. "It's on yours. Come see me when you later. Not after you can walk, give me time to collect me thoughts." Shinji almost barked at him, and he could only nod in response as Shinji turned around and walked off. Shinji pushed back a flap, and sunlight entered the tent, Shirou could barely make out his facial expression, before Shinji turned around and walked out of the tent.

"Don't take it too hard." He almost jumped at the sudden voice right next to him. It wasn't Aoko, Aoko was on his left side, where Shinji was, and where Shinji had exited. The voice came from his right.

He turned his head, and was surprised to see Carrie sitting some ways back. He wouldn't have noticed unless he had actively looked towards her. "Shinji means well, he really does. It's just that he doesn't like anyone dying under his watch." Carrie explained.

Shirou nervously scratched the back of his head as he observed the right side of the tent. He of course saw Carrie, she was sitting on a wooden chair, her arms crossed as she stared at him. But he could also make out the form of Lorelei, sitting by the corner of the tent with a scowl as she stared (read: glared) at him.

He also saw the smoking form of Touko sitting by a table, her cigarette illuminating the rather dark tent as her hands were on the table with her legs crossed right under it.

He opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted by Carrie. "Kind of the main reason me and Larry are got assigned under Shinji actually." It was at this point Shirou understood that Carrie was trying to lighten the mood somewhat with casual conversation.

"And why's that?" He asked, deciding that the distraction was welcome, and though the disappointment he had for himself was still in his mind, it was pushed to the back of his head.

Carrie shrugged. "I'm a tough bitch to kill." She said bluntly, causing Shirou to raise an eyebrow at her words. What woman would willingly call themselves a bitch? "And Larry's…" Carrie paused, as if thinking of the correct word to describe the small child.

"Larry's Larry I guess." Again, Carrie shrugged. And again, her explanation made Shirou raise an eyebrow. Carrie wasn't much for words, he could at least tell that. In fact, he'd wager that they were both on par with each other with being descriptive.

"Listen Shirou," Carrie called for him, and he locked eyes with her. He was surprised to hear a tone of sorrow in her voice. Quite unlike what he knew about the bluenette being tough and rather condescending. "No offense to you and your colleagues here, but I'm going to tell you now to leave the Forest to us." He opened his mouth to protest, but Carrie cut him off by shaking her head. "I know you feel responsible for the others' deaths. But that's exactly the reason why you should step back. We gave you the benefit of the doubt and gave you free rein to bypass the Forest. We had our own plan, but since yours was immediate, we decided to just see what would happen."

"Now I'm not pushing all the blame on you," Carrie reasoned. He looked up at her with unblinking eyes. "We're as much to blame for just trusting you blindly without a reason to after all." At that sentence, he had to resist flinching. That was rather blunt, and again, he saw a glimpse of himself in Carrie. "But in the end, we were the ones that paid for trusting you too much. So for now, just leave the Forest to us, and we'll rely on you when we enter the castle. That ok?"

Although Carrie's question gave him a choice, he knew that he really didn't have one. Either he say yes and work with the Executors that now distrusted him, or say no and get kicked out. And though the latter option might have been the best, after all; if they didn't go through with killing Aemulo and just return to the Clock Tower and to Isis empty-handed, they might just get pardoned for being incompetent. His personal feelings stopped him from taking that second option.

So with a tentative nod, he decided that the first option was really the best option.

Carrie smiled at him. This time, her smile seemed more natural and not the shivering cold one she always had before. "Great. I'll go tell Shinji that you'll provide backup." Carrie stood up and proceeded to walk towards the exit where Shinji left just a few minutes ago.

Pushing past the flaps, Carrie stepped out of the tent without another word. Leaving only the four magi alone in the rather dark room with Shirou still sitting up on the bed right in the middle of it.

For awhile, no one said anything. Only the sound of Touko's smoldering cigarette could be heard. Eventually however, Shirou broke the silence.

"So," He began, his voice quiet and reserved as he looked around the room. "Why was I tied up?" He asked, hopefully, that would get the others to start talking.

Three seconds turned into seven, then to ten, and then to fifteen. At the twentieth second, it was obvious no one was going to answer his question. So he just sighed as he scratched the back of his head.

He opened his mouth to ask another question, hopefully, something that either three would answer. But he was cut off by Aoko, who decided that she would answer his previous question. "You were trying to push the blade into you."

He did a double-take at her answer. He was doing what?

Aoko, seemingly seeing his incredulous expression, nodded her head. "Yeah." She confirmed. "You were trying to push that thing inside you like you were trying to kill yourself. We had to restrain you as you kept trashing around until you had your hand on the blade." Aoko explained, and again. Shirou could only scratch the back of his head as he didn't have any proper response to what Aoko had told him.

"I am the bone of my sword." His eyes widened as he turned towards Lorelei, who had elevated her scowl to an open frown. "Just what kind of spell did you do?" She asked with a calm voice, though Shirou could tell that she was far from calm. He knew Lorelei, when she was calm, she was quietly seething. And quite frankly, he couldn't blame her. That spell, it implied many things.

"I heard that too." Touko added. He turned towards her, and saw that she had puffed out smoke as she threw the cigarette on the ground and stomped on it. "Mind explained why exactly you have a mind altering spell?"

He bit his lower lip. A mind altering spell. As the name suggest, it altered the caster's mind so as to compensate for the spell's rather unique effect. There weren't too many spells like that, and for good reason as well. Spells like that weren't exactly without consequence. Mess too much with it, and you could get a case of mistaken identity. That was all he knew about the subject matter. His father hadn't explained much after that, as most spells that altered your mind and its state weren't generally used anymore and was considered an obsolete practice.

Well. Obsolete to those without a Reality Marble.

"Well?" Touko urged him on. Impatiently tapping her fingers on the table in front of her as she stared at him. "Just what does being the 'bone of my sword' do to you exactly? And why exactly do you even want to be a sword?"

He flinched at Touko's words. She had hit the nail on the head with her question. His spell that invoked his Reality Marble. It generally turned him into a sword, granted a living and breathing sword, but a sword nonetheless. And the first verse, 'I am the Bone of my Sword'. Spoke volumes of his own twisted personality.

He was about to answer Touko, but Aoko shook her head. "That comes after my questions are answered." She said, her tone suggesting she wouldn't be messed with right now. Shirou turned towards Aoko, and was surprised to see her normally red-eyes that were supposedly shifting through time now an ice cool blue. The blue eyes stared at him, and he found that he couldn't really look away from them.

"Shirou," Aoko began, her tone low as her eyes continued to captivate him. "How exactly did you get out of that Forest?" She asked, and again, he found himself unable to answer her question without giving her more questions.

He squirmed under Aoko's blue eyed gaze, and as much as he wanted to look away, he really couldn't. Doing so would just seem wrong, and Aoko was still waiting for his answer. An answer he didn't know how to put into words.

For a few seconds, he thought, he tried to think of a good answer. But all his answers would only raise more questions. If he told them all, there was a very good chance he'd be dissected. And even though he was a novice to the magical world, he knew that having a Reality Marble, something that overwrites reality and replaced it with your own twisted version of one, would raise very big questions.

Never mind that he had a Noble Phantasm in him like Touko had said. If she found out he had a Reality Marble, he doubted that Touko would ever let him out of her sight.

But then again, he could trust these women with his life. The only thing holding him back was his paranoia. And as he found out… wait, how long was he out?

"How long was I out?" He voiced his question that should have been the first question that he asked when he woke up. He heard Touko sigh from his right, and he didn't need to turn to imagine her slumping form.

"You were out for five hours. It's just past one right now." Touko answered his question. "But that's some head you got attached to your body, you sure you don't just want to die?"

Her question caught him off-guard and he couldn't help but twist snap his head towards her, eyes wide as he stared at Touko with incredulity.

"Of course I don't!" He answered in defense of himself. He honestly felt like he was improving somewhat. "But I risked not just my life here; I risked yours and those Executors as well. I just wanted to know what happened!" He reasoned, though he could feel a lump forming in his throat.

"Then act like you mean it." Touko barked at him as she stood up abruptly. Shirou flinched at her intense stare. "The first thing you ask for when you wake up is if any of the Executors escaped that Forest. You ignored your own wellbeing to ask for multiple strangers that would most likely turn their back on you when the mission was done. And though you act self-righteously, you're being hypocritical with your words." Touko growled.

"You say that you wanted to know what happened, but here's the thing Shirou." Touko narrowed her eyes at him. "If you're dead, would you still want to know?"

He froze at that. He looked up at Touko, only to see unbridled rage hidden in her red-eyes. He didn't know how a body made out of wood looked like it was angry, but Touko got through that she was seething at his words. And she had a good reason to.

Before he could really get into that thought however, he heard Touko slump into her chair, sighing deeply as she did so. "Whatever, we'll talk about your messed up self-worthiness later. Right now, answer Aoko's question. How did you get out of the Forest?" Touko repeated her sister's words, and Shirou sagged in relief at the change of topic. Though he still dreaded the fact that he would need to discuss this with Touko later.

**XxX**

"Well, that didn't turn out as bad as I thought." Maiya muttered to herself as she stepped back from the window. She had been rather scared for awhile there. When the first flash of light erupted and the Forest disappeared, she had thought that the Executors and the Sorcerer had gotten past the Forest.

She had been close to bolting out of the door and getting Aemulo to try and get him out of the castle, but another flash of light and another pinging noise stopped her in her tracks. When she had turned her head back towards the window, she was greeted with the sight of the Forest reemerging from the ground up as swords burst forth and formed themselves into silver trees. It was an awe inspiring sight to be sure, but then another question formed in her mind as she observed that happening.

It was a stellar defense, so why did her client want to leave this safe haven?

She was interrupted from her thoughts as a knock came from her door, she turned her head, silently noting that Riza had been looking at the door before the knocking was heard, and narrowed her eyes at it.

"Who is it?" She asked in a stoic tone. The… 'people' in this castle may be her clients, but she didn't necessarily trust them. Nor they her for that matter.

"It is Lilly." The voice of his client's aide sounded from behind the door, and she found herself narrowing her eyes at the door.

"What is it?" She asked. She didn't care that her voice sounded cold, nor did she care that it sounded distant. The master of the castle didn't normally seek them out, only allowing himself to trust them as she tried to think of a plan. But that had changed some time ago, when his aide. The one behind the door right now, Lilly, approached them with news that made all her plans fly out of the window. Granted, she may be just pessimistic, just because the last time Lilly had come to them she had bad news, didn't mean that she would have bad news now.

"I've come with a plan." The woman behind the door said, and she found herself humming in thought. "May I come in?"

She thought for a second, before she nodded her head. Not that Lilly could see it anyway. "Come in then." She said. And almost as soon as the words left her mouth, the door opened and a woman with blood red-eyes entered. The new sword still strapped to her waist as she quietly walked towards her.

"Get the door Riza." She was slightly miffed, she could have at least closed the door when she entered. Crossing her arms, she stared at the servant in front of her, quietly taking in her confident poise and her almost apathetic face. She knew in a face to face fight, she would lose to this woman. The combination of her vampiric powers and her natural regeneration would have her struggling to even wound her. Thankfully, a weapon that could at least wound her greatly was in the same room… Problem was, it was on the other side of it.

"You say you have a plan?" She asked as she started to walk towards the other end of the room. She quietly noted that Riza had taken her place right behind the servant, her hands by her side. Though she noticed that her left hand was ready to grab the battleaxe leaning on the wall next to the window. Good, if worst comes to worst, she wouldn't have to fight this thing alone.

"That I do." Lilly responded as she stared at her. She caught a glimpse of her red-eyes, and saw that it was still as calculating as before. When she had first met them in the lobby of the castle, and the time when she had come and told them bad-news.

"Well?" She urged for the thing to continue. She'd gladly take any course of action that would ensure their survival. Though she still had her doubts as to whether she would go through with whatever plan it had, she would still listen. It was better than thinking herself after all.

"Firstly however, I have a question. I assume you saw that flash?" The servant asked, and she finally reached the desk where the weapon she needed was held in. It was in a box on top of the desk, carefully sealed so that it wouldn't give any indication as to what was under its wooden cover.

She nodded her head as she casually brushed her hand over the box, as if dusting it with her hands. "I also saw the Forest get removed, as well as it reforming with another flash." She added as she quietly eyed the servant in front of her. Riza standing just behind it.

"And did you happen to panic as did happened?" The servant asked with a smirk on her face. She narrowed her eyes at it, she wouldn't reply to its goading.

Seeing that she wouldn't answer, the servant shrugged her shoulders. "Just bantering with you. It gets frightfully boring here when all you have to talk to is your reflection in the mirror, as well as several others hidden down below."

Its words set her on edge. Just what did she mean by that?

Seeing her tense, it smirked once more as she walked towards the window, turning its back on her as she quietly slid open the box with the weapon that could take down this monster.

"Anyway, my master and I can only assume that that flash as well as the Forest disappearing meant that the Executors are getting tired of waiting, and are trying to hasten their attempts to reach us." It explained as it finally reached the window, placing a hand on the window's edge as she leaned forward. She had to resist running towards it and pushing it right out of the window right then and there. It would give her much relief.

"But as you know, that didn't turn out exactly as they planned." It turned around and gave her a wry smile. She looked towards Riza, who was still close to it and by her battleaxe already.

"And why exactly did that happen at all?" She countered as she eyed the monstrosity in front of her. Her hands never leaving the box, but it had stopped so as to not alert suspicion to her movements. "Why exactly didn't the Executor's plan work?"

Again, the thing in front of her smirked. "Because when 'Nothing' does not exist. It cannot become 'Nothing.'" It explained cryptically, and she found herself awestruck.

"I see you understand." It mused as it turned around again, facing the open window once more. "My master truly has the best gate does he not? It allows no one but those my master trusts in, and promptly kills without the risk of getting destroyed itself. It is an amazing defense."

Yes, she had to agree. It was amazing, too amazing if she read between the lines.

"But I digress," She heard it sigh as it reached out the window. She watched as it grasped the glass-pane's handle, before it swung it closed with a slight bang. "My master's plan. I believe we have gone off a tangent, allow me to continue explaining just what my master had planned."

She tensed as she clutched the box's lid, ready to throw it open and just grab the Contender right out of the box and shoot it. Of course, it wouldn't be loaded. But hopefully, she wouldn't need to actually use it.

"It is simple really," It said in a monotone voice, almost as if the thought of the plan was droll. It turned around, and this time, she really wished that the Contender had a bullet in it. "We escape, you stay behind."

It lunged, and she pushed open the lid and pulled out the Contender. She raised it and the thing stopped dead in its tracks.

"Don't move," She ordered coldly as she moved her free right hand to grab the pistol attached to her hip. "If you as much as blink I will shoot."

"Your reflexes are fast." It complimented her as she finally pulled out her pistol. It was a typical 9mm handgun with twelve shots in its cartridge. It wouldn't be enough to take down the thing in front of her, but it would pose a threat just the same. "For a human, I must applaud you for being faster than me."

"I wasn't faster." She corrected as she inched closer to the door, her eyes never leaving the thing in front of her. "I was more prepared."

"Ah yes," Its voice sounded like it was droning. As if unimpressed, in deep contrast to its compliments mere seconds ago. "I almost forgot. You were trained by the Magus Killer himself. Of course you would be."

She never took her eyes off the thing, and from her peripheral vision, she knew she was close to the door. She wouldn't talk anymore, she needed to escape.

"Riza, get the door." She ordered as she kept moving.

"Nega…tive."

She was about to ask why the hell not, but a searing pain suddenly erupted from her left hand. The hand that held the Contender.

"GAH!" She screamed as her arm erupted in blood. Her left hand now sailing through the air with the Contender still attached to it. She keeled over and clutched the bleeding stump of an arm, before a hand enveloped her throat and pulled her upwards.

"Homunculi. Artificial humans with artificial souls. It was easy enough to dominate them." It said as it glared down at her. Its blood red eyes staring into her own.

"Now the only question is," It began as its hands hardened their hold on her throat even more. "Will you be as easy as her?"

She wanted to snarl, to spit at the face in front of her. But a sharp blow to the back of her head blacked her vision. But before she passed out thoroughly, she heard it speak once more. Addressing Riza in an almost familiar tone.

"Good job, your master would be proud." It said, and she finally passed out. Her last thoughts about the creator of the Homunculus Riza.

**XxX**

"That's a strange way of strengthening yourself." Aoko muttered as she crossed her arms over her chest. Truth be told, she didn't like what her student had said. There was something he was hiding, and even though she wanted to push, she couldn't rightly do so as her student didn't even want to talk about it in the first place.

So she would stick with trying to annoy the answer out of him.

"It's not strengthening." Shirou muttered as if defeated. She watched with a wry smile as he slumped down on the table he was sitting on. The entire time he was telling them about his unique spell, he had been sitting on the table he had been strapped to, facing her and away from the other two occupants that didn't move from there positions, heck; he didn't even move to change his blood-soaked shirt. She found it hard at first not to gape at the open slash mark on his shirt that showed his muscles, but she had self-control. She didn't ogle anything, nor did she openly stare. Though she did skirt fleeting glances once or twice. Hey, she was a woman, she liked men with good bodies. It was natural.

"As far as I can tell, all you're doing is strengthening yourself. Not turning yourself into a sword." She glared at her sister… again. Touko didn't seem fazed at all, but the way that her sister's eyes darted towards her, she knew that her sister could feel her enmity from across the room.

"And I keep telling you it isn't strengthening, it's a-" She narrowed her eyes as she watched Shirou stop abruptly, as if what he was about to say had been caught in his throat. She saw him sigh before he shook his head in defeat. "You know what, think what you want. It's hard to explain at all in the first place." He muttered as he stood up. She moved her chair back a bit to give him some space. She saw him turn to her, before he opened his mouth to speak.

"If you guys have anymore questions, tell me later. I'm gonna go change my shirt. I'll apologize to Shinji as well." Shirou said as he walked towards the exit. He brushed past the curtain, and promptly left the three of them alone.

"At least we now know what kind of twisted sense of self Shirou has." She turned her head to stare at her student's student. The Barthomeloi scion had been quiet as Shirou explained what his spell did. She never spoke, and she only listened intently. But the fact that she had caught sight of apprehension and fidgeting from Lorelei as Shirou explained spoke volumes of just how much the knowledge of his spell had disturbed her.

"He isn't twisted." Her sister cut off Lorelei. She turned her head towards her sister, only to see her lighting another cigarette. She opened her mouth to ask why he wasn't twisted, but Touko continued her thoughts. "He's exactly what he is. A sword."

She felt her eyebrow twitch at her sister's explanation. "And just what is that supposed to mean Puppet?" She couldn't resist making her voice sound condescending. She waited for Touko's comeback, but it never came. Instead, Touko took the stick in between her right middle and index finger and put it on her mouth. Inhaling the thing like it was an ocean breeze.

"It means just that Blue." She didn't react to the verbal provocation, though she still felt slightly miffed at her use of her nickname.

"And I'm finding it hard to believe it in the first place." She countered as she sighed. No, as long as the tests weren't conducted, she wouldn't believe what her sister was implying.

"Oh come on Aoko." She was taken aback at her sister's use of her name. Even more so since the tone had sounded like someone talking to a child that refused to do chores simply because they didn't want to. "It's pretty obvious. He can understand swords better than anyone here. No wait, that's wrong. He doesn't understand swords. He empathizes with them. Empathize Aoko."

"I don't like it either," She turned her head to stare at Lorelei, who had her arms crossed over her chest as well. She saw the apprehensive look she had in her eyes, and she could tell that Lorelei really did mean it when she said she didn't like it. "But the evidence is right in front of us. He even gave us his own words."

She frowned. Of course she knew that, but still. That didn't mean that his origin was technically 'Sword'. It could be 'Understanding' for all they knew.

She frowned after that thought. No, it probably wasn't' understanding. If it was, he wouldn't have gone after Aemulo in the first place.

"Alright, I admit." She sighed as she uncrossed her arms and put her hands on the table where Shirou had been sitting and laying on a few minutes ago. "From what he told us, it could be true. But I'll reserve my judgment until after I've had the proper tests." She told the two clearly. It didn't matter what they thought anyway, as long as the job wasn't done. They should be worrying about this later.

"Let's deal with the problem first. We'll deal with Shirou's difficult personality later." She said, garnering a snort from her sister.

"It was Shirou's difficult personality that caused the problem in the first place." Touko pointed out as she took another whiff of her cigarette. She saw her sister sigh before she started shaking her head. "But you're right. Let's deal with the problem at hand first."

"I do not like it." Lorelei voiced her opinion. She turned towards the other brunette, and carefully watched as Lorelei sighed while shaking her head. She was surprised at that act, it was a rare scene of Lorelei showing her exasperation and annoyance. She was normally more composed than that. "I prefer dealing with Shirou now and being done with it, than having to wait later until he has had time to compose himself. He may hide things from us." Lorelei narrowed her eyes.

She couldn't help it. She snorted at Lorelei's words. "Yeah, and the moon is made of cheese." She said in a taunting tone. Lorelei turned towards her, her eyes showing surprise and anger at her words. She sighed. "Sorry, but this is Shirou we're talking about. He can't lie." She stated in a manner that made her statement a fact. "You know this almost as much as me Lorelei."

Lorelei narrowed her eyes at her, but she only responded with a grin of her own. She didn't normally extol herself when she was right, but the fact that she managed to get under Lorelei's skin, as well as having her own sister admit she was right. Well, it was a good feeling.

"Alright, no fighting now." Touko tried to ease the tension in the room, though it was mostly coming from Lorelei. "We can take our frustrations out later, first we have the actual problem of getting past the Forest in the first place."

She looked up at her sister. "So, what do you suppose we do?" She had asked, and Touko hummed in thought.

"I say we do nothing." Touko said, and she noted that her voice was serious. She was about to ask why she thought doing nothing would get them anywhere, but Touko had seen the unasked question, and only gave her a small barely perceptible smile.

"Didn't that Executor say that he and his team would handle it?" She continued, although her tone was hinting that what she was saying was obvious. "We don't _need_ to do anything about the Forest. All we have to do is figure out how to take down a Dead Apostle Ancestor candidate without dying or turning into a ghoul ourselves."

It was at this point she saw Lorelei scowl deeply at her sister's words. "I do not like it." Lorelei voiced out, but before she could say anything more, Touko had cut her off.

"Of course you wouldn't," She turned her head, just in time to see Touko at the tail end of rolling her eyes. "You're just as impatient as Shirou. I'd wager if it weren't for Shirou saying he could handle things with the Forest, you'd have been the first one trying to do something." Touko pointed out.

Again, she noticed Lorelei scowl. But otherwise, her body didn't indicate that she was about to lash out violently. "While I do admit I am rather impatient. And that my staying still was because I trusted Shirou. That is not the reason I do not like your plan." Lorelei stated, and she noted that her sister seemed to quirk her head to the side as she heard her say that.

"Oh?" She uttered, interested at what Lorelei had to say. "And why exactly don't you like my plan?" Touko asked, she noted that there was a hint of amusement laced with mocking in her tone.

Lorelei detected the tone of condescension, but otherwise, kept her irritation well hidden. "Because your plan involves waiting." Lorelei pointed out.

"If we wait too long, the Apostle in the castle can just set up more traps. And let's not forget how easily he was able to kill thirty Executors before. I seem to remember the report saying that there were about eight or nine servants that had killed those thirty in the first place." Lorelei further explained, and this time, it was Touko's turn to scowl.

"Then what do you suggest we do?" Touko couldn't help but show her irritation in her voice. And Aoko had to fight down the smile that threatened to appear on her lips. Not many could get under Touko's skin like that, and unlike with Shirou, whose pure idiocy and impulsiveness just screamed for people to get annoyed at him. Lorelei didn't do much at all; she only picked apart her plan in a nonchalant manner. As if it were a child's plan. "Charge in headfirst into a Forest of swords that would stab us to death before we take a second step?"

Lorelei shook her head, her scowl now more prominent on her face. "I'm not suggesting any of the sort!" She shouted, annoyance and anger flashing on her face. Aoko noted that she may need to step in sooner rather than later from the way the conversation was going.

"Then what do you 'suggest' we do your 'Barthomeloi'." Touko goaded, and Aoko decided that she really should step in, before things got physical.

"Okay, let's all take a second to calm down here." Aoko raised her hands placatingly, a fight between them here would be disastrous, and they really couldn't afford being at half-strength or possibly dead when they faced the Apostle.

"We really shouldn't fighting right now, for all we know, the Executors could have already cleared the Forest with their plan." With those words, she looked at Lorelei. Noting how she seemed to calm down slightly. "Or maybe the Executors plans would take a few more days to set up." At those words, she looked at her sister, and noted that she backed down much more reluctantly than her student's student.

Sighing in relief, she dropped her hands as she stood up and walked around the table Shirou had been resting on, and sat on top of it. "See? Whichever scenario, it isn't really feasible. We wait, we don't. We're still giving time for the Dead Apostle to gather himself."

"Then what do you suggest we do oh dear sister of mine?" Touko asked in a sarcastic tone. She prided herself in the fact that she managed to ignore her goading.

"I am not suggesting anything." She declared, surprising Touko slightly at her words. "What I'm going _to do_ however…" She paused to get there attention. Which worked spectacularly. "Is talk to the Executors and ask them what their plan is. If it's feasible, we go with theirs, if it's not. We go with mine."

"And what exactly is your plan Aoko?" It was Lorelei who asked that question, and for once. She really didn't bother to hide her smirk.

She raised her hands, and she felt her turn red as her hands sparked to life with Prana and power. Pure energy arced out of her hands and over her head, but otherwise, was low enough to itself contained in the tent they were in. "We smash our way through."

**XxX**

Why was He there? No wait; that was the wrong question. Why was he _himself _in His place?

Why was he there, and why exactly did he hear something akin to a war going around him? It made no sense. At all. In fact, most of the things that happened in his… Dream? Was that the right word? In his dream had been strange, extremely so.

From him appearing on a hill surrounded by swords and even impaled by them, to the fact that Bakuya had appeared right over him, slightly to side and it started to pull him. True, he had seen him already impaled countless times, some by his sword, and some from the visions he got from fighting Him. But that was the first time he had seen the vision in His World. The last time he saw him impaled, was when he was on an open field with a burning landscape right in front of him. He was hunched over, and it was as if he was looking forlornly at the scene of burning and carnage in front of him.

Yup, that was the vision before. So why was the vision of Him in His World. And why exactly was it appearing now? Was it because he combined Kanshou into him?

When he had escaped that Forest as he it was reforming. He had done something out of desperation. He didn't want to get stabbed by countless swords, so he did something out of desperation. He turned himself into a sword.

It was an easy affair. Instead of the typical 'Trace on!' followed by 'I am the Bone of my Sword'. He changed it. It was 'I am the Bone of my Sword' followed by 'Trace on!', so instead of holding a Sword as he channeled it's essence into him. He channeled a sword's essence right into him as he formed the sword within him.

Of course, he hadn't really been thinking and had done it out of instinct and the need to survive. But he managed to do it… Whilst getting stabbed by Bakuya as he threw it that is.

Wait a minute, how exactly did he get Bakuya to form separate from the Kanshou within him? It was strange, did he do it out of instinct? Or did something else push him towards that feat…. Maybe it was…

He didn't finish the thought. He would figure that vision and forming a blade within him later. Right now, he needed to apologize to someone. Hopefully, the man was forgiving.

He took another step towards the tent where he had first met the trio of Executors, but was stopped as a hand landed on his shoulder. He turned to look at who had stopped him, and was surprised to see the creepy smiling face of Carrie looking at him. She was shorter than him by some inches but otherwise, Shirou had the distinct feeling that it was him being looked down on and not the other way around.

"He asked not to be disturbed." Carrie said, and Shirou understood what she was talking about. But he couldn't quite stop himself from looking back at the tent. The flaps were closed for obvious privacy, but he wanted to go behind those flaps and apologize profusely for doing something that had killed the man's allies.

He felt Carrie grip his shoulder harder, but otherwise, he continued to look at the tent. "Come on Shirou, the man has a lot on his mind right now. It would be best if he wasn't disturbed." As Carrie finished saying that, she pulled on his shoulder and he was forced to turn around and start walking with Carrie as she led him away from the tent he wanted to go into.

Deciding that he would let Shinji be alone was probably the better thing to do, he allowed himself to quicken his pace and catch up to Carrie. If anything, this would kill some time. And as much as he didn't like some of the looks Carrie gave him, it was better than the alternative of talking with three women that were annoyed with him and had questions that he was still very uncomfortable with to answer truthfully. He couldn't lie for squat, and he knew that lying to any of those three women would just garner him their wrath. So deciding the caution was the better part of valor, he took his chances with Carrie. Hey, maybe he was just paranoid… But then again, his paranoia did make sense now that his previous predictions had all somewhat come true…

He decided that he would rather be alone now.

He was about to tell Carrie that he wanted to be alone, but she seemed to finally reach whatever destination she had been leading him to, and as he looked at the scene in front of him, he couldn't help but frown deeply.

"Why did you take me here?" He asked, clearly disturbed as he stared at the Forest. No, he wasn't staring. He was glaring at it. But it wasn't the Forest that made him glare, it was the sight in the middle of the multiple forms of Hector that made him glare.

He was seeing the mangled and broken bodies of the Executors that didn't make it out in time.

"Because you at least need to see what happened." Carrie spoke as she pointed at the bodies. "See that torso with the vest under what's left of a jacket? That's John." She stated as she then moved her hand over towards a foot sticking out of a pile of Hectors. "That foot belongs to Heather, cute girl, very lively."

As Carrie continued to point out the different body parts that she could see, Shirou found that he wasn't really affected as much as he thought he would. True, he was used to seeing dead bodies, but this had been the first time he had seen dead bodies caused by him of all things. The thought of being impassive to this sight both frightened and unsettled him.

"And that-" Carrie pointed towards a hand outstretched as Hectors impaled the ground around it, leaving it upright and outstretched with an open palm. The sight of it made Shirou stiffen unconsciously. The way it was outstretched, the hand open as if begging for someone to save it… It reminded him of himself. "-Poppy. Another girl. I still remember her when she first got an eyeful of Shinji. I'll tell you, she was smitten."

Shirou was growing impatient here. And though he knew it was disrespectful to the dead, he couldn't help but tap his foot impatiently. "Why are you showing me this?" He asked her, and Carrie could only turn back towards him and give him the same smile that made him shiver. Except this time, there was something else hidden in her smile, some other form of malice that hadn't been there before. It honestly made him shiver harder than before. And this time, he couldn't really hide it.

"You act like you don't care. Yet I see it in your eyes." Carrie leaned forward, she was so close to his face that he could feel her breath on his skin as she stared into his eyes. "You aren't reacting because you don't care, you're not reacting because you're used to it." She pointed out, and Shirou couldn't really refute what she said. So he settled with taking a step-back away from her.

"So what?" He asked, getting impatient. He didn't need his problems pointed out all over again; he's had enough with Rin berating him about it in the first place. "I've seen dead bodies before, I've seen people die because of me. It's not something to make me surprised." He said as nonchalantly as he could, but the nervousness in his body made his voice quaver slightly, and he could tell that Carrie noticed it.

Carrie smirked at him. She then took another step forward, a slightly bigger step than what Shirou took. "That's the thing," She began as she took another step forward, getting in his face again. He took a step backwards, but Carrie was persistent as she took steps forward whenever he took a step backwards. "You're trying to act guilty, guilty of a crime that you had no choice of committing, of something that you had no choice but to do."

He wanted to take another step backwards, but the tree on his back stopped him from doing so. Carrie took another step forward, and she was in front of his face again. Her breath on his skin made it tingle slightly, but he really couldn't take his eyes off of her own. Carrie's steel chest-plate pressed itself on his shirt, and he found that he couldn't escape. Even if he pushed her off, he had no doubt that she would pin him on the tree as he tried to escape.

"You're acting nonchalantly as you see the bodies, as you see what your actions wrought, yet inside, it makes you seethe in anger. You're furious, not at others, but at yourself. You see a dead body, and you immediately think it's because you weren't there to save them. You think it's your fault, when in actuality; it was never yours in the first place." Carrie's lips were inches away from his own, and he found that he couldn't really help his quickening heartbeat as well as his quickening breathing from showing.

"You Shirou, have Survivor's guilt." Carrie pointed out his major flaw, and he found that even the Executor was breathing as raggedly as he was. "We're the same."

Her last few words surprised him greatly, but his surprise turned into shock as he felt her lips touch his. It was brief, barely even a second passed before Carrie pulled away, a smirk on her face as she did so. But for Shirou, that quick peck had stunned him. It wasn't like he didn't want it to happen, Carrie was a beautiful woman, but it wasn't like he was actually expecting for it to happen in the first place.

Seeing his stunned look as she pulled away, Carrie couldn't help but smile slightly at him. He noted that Carrie's smile this time was somewhat lighter and actually… comforting. "Just remember Shirou, this may have been your fault now. But whatever caused you to start your path down Survivor's guilt probably wasn't yours to begin with."

And with those words, Carrie walked past him and the tree he was leaning on. Leaving him stunned and unable to speak. It wouldn't be for another good ten minutes would he regain his cognitive thought process to finally say what he had wanted to say when Carrie had pecked his lips with hers.

"The hell?"

**XxX**

**Next chapter, we finally get the big meeting between Shirou and Maiya. Not quite sure with Aemulo yet, but otherwise, shit's going to go down faster now.**

**I've left a BIG hint here as to who Shirou's Servant will be. If you're still gonna keep asking about who it is, you either are a newb to the Nasuverse, or didn't read that part. Either way, it's pretty obvious now who his Servant will be.**

**To explain some things here. Shirou temporarily turned himself into Kanshou and chucked Bakuya away from him. He relied on the magnetizing properties of both swords to get him out of the bind, and thankfully it did just that. As to why Shirou doesn't have wounds on his legs or any other part of his body except for the hole that Bakuya made. I believe it's explained with Bakuya disappearing. But otherwise, if you guys don't know. It's Shirou's hax healing. Don't worry though, I'm not relying on Avalon much here. But because it's still inside him right now, it's fairly obvious that his wounds will heal at an outstanding rate.**

**Maiya isn't dying people. So keep your knickers on. Next chapter will show you what happened with Maiya as well as Riza. And it will also be the chapter where real shit is going down. But otherwise, I'm being as vague as possible since the next chapter will most likely have 20'000 words or more.**

**As for Shirou not acting all guilty and trying to force himself to apologize to Shinji. Well, it's his character. Shirou doesn't act guilty, he just shoves all the guilt deep within himself and tries to save as many people as possible to erase that guilt As for him being more subdued than normal, it's because of three girls that are now looking at him with suspicion. Shirou's changing, albeit slowly.**

**As for Carrie… I'm fairly sure you guys know who she really is. But to be frank, this is her right after she was unsealed. So her personality is somewhat… different. Don't worry, she'll be the same character you guys know after this arc. But I doubt if she'll play a bigger role later in this story.**

**I'm also being purposely vague on Larry's powers. His role is very big in the next few chapters.**

**Also, yeah. The main problem is dealing with the Forest and with Aemulo. Shirou's problems with himself as well as learning about his strange magic will have to wait until later when it's safer. They trust Shirou enough to keep himself away from trouble and still keep them safe. And Shirou does as well. I can't say the same for the Executors, but right now. They need to trust each other as shit will hit the fan.**

**Anything else I left unclear? Go ahead and ask me. I'm not above replying to people. But don't be surprised to see a reply 2 weeks after you've posted your questions. My net has been acting up for weeks now. I'm not even sure when I will be able to post this chapter.**

**Anyway, on a lighter note. I wish everyone a Merry Christmas and happy holidays! Please don't be a douche and be offended some of you guys by being nice. Because that wouldn't be nice of you you know? I wish you good luck and happiness, and you curse my for it. Come on, let's be adults about that m'kay?**

**And oh yeah… 52 reviews for the last chapter. That. Is. Awesome!**

**C.O.Y.L out, peace!**


	19. Rising Action

**Lawyer Tom: Come on now, say those words.**

…**I am a handsome man?**

**Lawyer Tom: No… You know what I'm talking about.**

…**You are my best friend?**

**Lawyer Tom: Wow, your best friend in a figment of your imagination.**

…**You're an asshole?**

**Lawyer Tom: True… And that's only to you, try again.**

…**I own nothing?**

**Lawyer Tom: Bingo we have a winner! Give the man a prize!**

**You're an asshole.**

**Lawyer Tom: I know.**

**And we be back. Huehuehue.**

**Won't lie, was busy with my other stories before this one. And right now, I have an extra story to pick up along with my old ones. If you guys like Fairy Tail, and like Fate/Stay Night, I suggest looking at my newest story. A Magi's tale. Why did I make this story? Because I have a hyper imagination.**

**Anyway, I would like to apologize for the people that had been waiting for this. And I sincerely hope that this chapter will be satisfying for my readers. With that said however, I would like to pose a question I asked in my other fic. Have I improved in my writing? Not writing style mind you, but in my general writing of words and of grammar. I'd like to know if I'm improving in a technical sense, cause I looked at some of my first written works, and found how atrocious they really were. And then compared them to what I wrote now, and well, I noticed the vast improvement. You don't need to read my other stories mind you, just from chapter one to chapter nineteen of this story if you have the time. Did I improve?**

**By the way, to clarify. Carrie is C***, while Larry is an OC. M'kay? Larry ain't Solomon, nope, nadda. I don't even think I'm going to use Solomon in this fic. But that is up to me.**

**Warning here. We are dealing with Executors in the opening of this chapter. They go on to speak about God and their Faith. If you are an atheist that hates religion, do not mind it. They are meant to make the character stay as characters. I am not forcing my belief down anyone's throats, okay? Okay. If you don't want to read through that, feel free to skip it. **

**And you know what I should not have done? Read doujin about Aoko… It was NTR. I regret everything. Well, at least it had a good ending… to some extent. And Aoko stayed true to herself. But still… Damn man.**

**On with the show!**

**XxX**

After that impromptu talk with the Executor Carrie that had been _much_ more than a talk, Shirou had been noticeably shaken. Not badly mind you, but his thoughts were occupied by a blue-haired Executor that had taken a liking to him, attributing it to them being the 'same'.

As he stepped back into the camp, he was vaguely aware that most of the Executors were staring at him, some outright glaring even. But though the glares would wilt any lesser man, he wasn't just any lesser man. He had been the subject of stares like that before, and though it had lasted for only two days, he was used to ignoring them.

He was used to it because during his Grail War, Rin had taken a sudden interest in him, prompting the entire school to go on rumor frenzy.

Heated jealous glares came from men and some women, while disdainful looks were given to him because most of the rumor had him as the 'bad guy' that had found dirt on 'Tohsaka-hime' and was using it to blackmail her into being his girlfriend.

Yeah, needless to say, they were all pointedly ignored. He didn't really care for social standing anyway.

But the difference between those stares and glares from Homurahara Academy and the stares he was receiving now was pretty obvious. With his fellow schoolmates, they were mostly juvenile glares, just passing thoughts from people that were still looking for what they really wanted to be in life. But the glares from the Executors were of either pure hate or loathing, to outright disappointment and apathy.

And if he had to be truthful, the second one stung him more than it really should. He didn't particularly care, he could ignore them, but still, they had trusted him to get them through, and he had led them close to their deaths. What kind of a hero would lead people to their deaths? He was supposed to save people damn it! Not kill them because of his stupidity!

He was so engrossed in his thoughts, that he didn't notice that he was on a collision course with an Executor that he had all but forgotten was still there.

The small body crashed into him, and he looked down to see that he had just collided with the small Executor called Larry. He opened his mouth to apologize, but the small child Executor merely excused himself with a small voice.

"Excuse me." He had said before he side-stepped and moved past him, leaving him slightly bewildered at the curt Executor.

He turned around and stared at the back of the small Executor, wondering what had happened to the little kid in the past that would make him so curt and polite. He was surprised that someone had answered him.

"He was found by Shinji sandwiched in between his parents." He turned around, and found the Executor that had escorted him approaching him with no hesitation in his steps. He was flanked on both sides by two other Executors, the one on his left slightly shorter than he was, while the one his right was a head taller than he was. Both figures however, were hooded, preventing him from seeing their facial expressions save for their clean mouths.

"Poor kid was still awake when we found him." His previous escort continued his tale. "Didn't seem disturbed in the slightest though, as if he was numb to the world. Lord knows how long it took before he actually spoke to anyone." The man's voice was somber, but there was a hint of amusement in his voice as well. "His first words were… I believe it was 'Food'."

"Now that can't be right," A feminine voice sounded the man's left. Her voice was melodious and calming, but he found that it was also slightly amused, just like his escort's. "I believe it was 'Milk'." He also noted that she had a slight accent to her words. He couldn't quite place the accent, but at least he knew that she wasn't raised as an English speaking woman.

"No." The figure to the right of his escort's was deep, baritone even. His accent was sounded like the Russian's he saw with Taiga when they watched foreign action films where the bad guys were usually from the great red country. "He said 'goodbye'."

"Now why would he say that?" His escort asked, humor still in his voice. The hooded Russian man only shrugged in response.

"He went out to look for food." He said blandly. Which elicited a giggle from the woman, and a heart laugh from his escort.

He tilted his head in confusion, was he missing something here?"

"Sorry, sorry." His escort apologized, waving his hand in a placating manner. Though what he was placating, he didn't know. "Just an inside joke." He said as he gave him a small smile.

Again, he could only stare dumbly at him, unsure of how to react to his answer. But otherwise, wasn't at all perturbed. As he stared however, the woman with the soft-spoken voice as well as the light accent sniffed at him, clearly unimpressed with his form. "Don't be shy now," She began. "Introduce yourself."

He scowled a little, was she demanding or was she asking? He couldn't quite make it out since her accent made it harder to understand her.

He was about to retort, to tell her to introduce herself first, but his escort only gave him an apologetic smile. "Forgive Angela," He began, inclining his head slightly towards him. "She's had a rather sheltered upbringing. Don't let her soft-spoken voice fool you, she has quite the sharp tongue when she talks." He explained, genuinely sounding apologetic towards him.

The woman – Angela – gave his escort a derisive snort. "Oh please, my upbringing has absolutely nothing to do with eet." His eyebrows rose in question at the sudden slip-up. Angela seemed to notice as well, raising one hand to cover her exposed mouth. After a second however, she let out a sigh, pulling her hands towards her hood and pulling it back. He was surprised to see a woman probably in her late twenties to early thirties,, her platinum blonde hair seemed to shine even in the dim lighting of the forest they were in. Her heart-shaped face and puffy lips and straight nose gave her a rather haughty look, and her attitude wasn't really doing her looks any favors in fooling anyone she was soft-spoken. "Honestly, you make eet hard to speak fluently in English." She chided his escort, to which he responded with a chuckle.

"I apologize Angela, but God knows just how hard it is to make you keep your mouth shut." Though his words were rather taunting and stinging, Angela only gave his escort a small smile, he could see some fondness in them as well.

"Yes," He turned towards the taller man, and found that he had his own hood fall down, revealing a bald head with a tattooed face. The tattoo ran from the man's bald head towards his eyes in the image of an eastern dragon. He was slightly surprised to see an Executor have a tattoo, but didn't give it much thought. Honestly, seeing a priest a tattoo shouldn't have surprised him, not with the things he was so used to seeing. "Yuri agrees with Angela."

Did the big Russian man just refer to himself in third-person?

"Come on Yuri, not you too!" His escort whined, his face holding mock hurt. He watched the entire exchange between the three people in silent confusion. Why were they talking to him again? He had the faintest idea that it involved a child…

"It is true." The Russian man – Yuri – told his escort straightly, turning towards him. "You do not make us learn proper English. You make us only speak English in front of others."

"I thought that was an agreement between the three of us?" His escort whined. "I lead, but we talk in your languages, alternating between French, English, and then Russian every week!"

"Yes," Yuri nodded his head. "But no one said about talking in front of others."

His escort released a heavy sigh. "Geez, God must hate me for having both of you as partners." Though the man had a resigned tone in his voice, he could detect some amusement in the man's tone as well.

"Peace brother," Yuri amended, giving his escort the stink eye, as well as an apologetic smile. "We did not mean to cajole, but refrain from using His name in vain."

"Yes," Angela nodded, agreeing with her Russian partner. "Do not become blasphemous on our behalf, we do not want to join you in hell as well."

"Uhh," He began tentatively, unsure if he should interrupt the trio's interaction or if he should just leave. He decided on the former, they had approached him, so they should have something they want to say… right? "Did you guys need something, or…?" He trailed, raising an eyebrow in question to them.

"Actually, no." His escort said as he gave him a small smile. He was hit then at how nondescript his escort really was. The man's smile was one you saw everyday, when you go in and out of a store, the cashier being the face. Every day you would see that smile, but it wasn't the same every day. Aside from the man's slight accent, he really was just a face in the crowd. "We just wanted you to know that some of us don't really blame you."

He frowned at what he had said. He was honestly surprised he had come to him to tell him that, he was under the impression that he had done them something that would be considered evil. Judging from the way Shinji had looked at him and how the other Executors were giving him the stink-eye.

His escort seemed to notice him frown, and just waved at him dismissively. "They knew what they were going into when they joined this brotherhood. We walk alongside death, much more closely than you Magi. Not as much as your Enforcers I suppose, but still, we walk a _very_ thin line between living and dying." He explained, though this time, he nodded his head in understanding. Kiritsugu had said that as well, to be a mage means you walk alongside death. Though with Executors and Enforcers, that phrase couldn't have been more true he guessed.

"What Heathcliff means is," Angela began as she turned her soft eyes towards him. For some reason however, whether it was because of her partner's warnings, he found that her eyes were more hardened than he initially thought. "Is that most of us just think of dying as part of the job. You have no fault in their deaths, no matter how much you think you do. God had deemed them ready for the afterlife – for heaven – and that should make us more happy than sad." Angela gave him a small smile.

His escort – Heathcliff – gave Angela a derisive snort. "As if God wants us to die Angela." He said. "We die simply because we are not careful, God doesn't choose when we die. He simply watches and observes, and then when we die, he decides if we are worthy enough for his Paradise or not."

"Enough," Yuri said as he sighed. His deep voice echoing around their area. "It does not matter, they are dead, we are alive. Discussing the afterlife can come after we die. Yes?"

He watched the interaction between all three, and he couldn't help but let out a small smile. Even though they were close to death, close to their own eternal damnation due to their labels as heretics they still found time to interact like this.

"I apologize," Heathcliff began as he put his hand out. "But I must cut this conversation short, it seems my partners are nothing more than airheads that seek to discuss our faith. It must be boring for you, no?" He asked with a small smile. He reached out with his own hand and shook his escort's firmly.

"Not really no," He admitted as he let go. "It's actually… nice to see people so devoted to your job." He admitted. He himself was a hardworker, and he could admire people working as hard if not harder than him and believing that they were right.

Now, if only he could do the same.

"Ah, then we must have a talk sometime." Heathcliff said with a jovial smile. "Are you a praying man Shirou?" He asked, a glistening appearing in his eye. He stepped back slightly, but otherwise, answered with a shake of his head.

"Err, not really no." He admitted. He wasn't as religious as these Executors. But he knew at least how to pray… granted Shinto prayers, but still prayers.

"Ah, a shame." Heathcliff admitted before he turned and waved a hand over his shoulder towards him. "Well, till we meet again Shirou. Hopefully, not with me holding you at sword point and escorting you back to my camp."

"Well then." Angela spoke and he turned towards her. "Eet was a pleasure." He raised an eyebrow as she curtsied to him. A brief image of a young girl in purple flashed in his face, and his mood plummeted somewhat. He wasn't fast enough to save her, but maybe after his time in the upcoming Grail War, he didn't need to. "I hope you don't hold it against us that our other team members see you as someone that wants them dead." Again her voice was dainty, but her words held some sort of… discrepancy to it that just didn't fit with her general image.

"I left the Union when I turned eighteen," Yuri spoke. "I left because I realized that equality was impossible to us humans. That it was impossible with people in power. I went over the wall, and then went on to find my own way." Yuri leveled with him. He was by no means a short man, in fact, he was taller than most of his classmates in Homurahara. But Yuri had to bend his knees slightly so he could level with him and stare into his eyes. "God gave me a home, and I have done everything to follow his path. For in God, we are all truly equal. That is what Heathcliff wanted to tell you. Do not worry about them hating you, they do not matter. Only God matters." Yuri blinked, before he turned and walked away at a brisk pace.

He gave the large man a small smile as he walked away. Again, he wasn't really a praying man, or even a faithful man. But his words gave him some respite, if only slightly.

"They are just as human as everyone." He jumped a little as he heard Shinji's voice sound from behind him. He honestly hadn't heard him approaching. "The death of their comrades has hit them just as hard as everyone else; the only difference is they choose to finish the job first, before weeping."

Something about Shinji's words struck a chord with him. "Your comrades blame me." He stated as he looked around, noting that whenever he moved his eyes over a group of people, they would divert their eyes somewhere else.

"Of course they do." Shinji stated. "I do as well to be honest." He turned back to Shinji, giving him a blank stare. "But we trusted you, and then we paid the price for it. We learn our lesson, and move on. When we finish our job, we never forget the lessons our loved ones give us, because it is our past that makes us to what we are today. And it is our future that guides us as we walk through the present."

"_We do not regret Shirou,"_ Shinji spoke in Japanese. "_We only continue on our path."_ Shinji finished as he stared straight at him.

He was surprised at how… accurate his words were to his own aria. But he was doubly surprised at how he had the words in his own aria and what they meant. He realized just how easy it was to stray from his path, at how easy his regrets could take over his world.

"Come, we wish to discuss what we plan to do with you and your women." He jumped slightly at Shinji's words. That… he was thankful those 'women' weren't around to hear his words.

"They aren't mine." He said hastily, his ears burning. "They're my friends." He finished.

Shinji only gave him an amused eyebrow raise before he started walking towards the main tent where he first met him.

For some reason, he didn't believe that was the end of Shinji's teasing. But at least, he was cordial to him again. Now, his goal was to maintain that cordialness.

**Fate: Zero/Night**

**XxX**

He liked the plan, it was simple, to the point, and had a good chance of succeeding. Lorelei shared his enthusiasm, judging from the way she was flexing her fingers on her exposed arm, she looked ready to let the plan unfold, guiding it along the best way she could.

Aoko too, though she seemed rather put-off for some reason that the plan involved using pure destruction to get through the Forest. Like she had the same idea but never got around to telling everyone about it. And since he knew Aoko to some extent, he really couldn't put it past her to have a plan like that.

Thus, it was only Touko who had openly objected to the plan the head Executor Shinji had put forth. And if she was anything like the pragmatic and logic powered woman he thought she was, then he really couldn't put it past her for doing so.

But she didn't need to confront them in front of the crowd of Executors. She could have made her disbelief of the plan heard when they were discussing it in the tent at least.

"That is the singularly hardest and absolutely loony plan any of you could have put forth." Touko bit out as she looked ready to bite the cigarette in her mouth into two from the way she was looking at them all. "I know it, and I know you know it too. What makes you think that anyone would agree to this kind of plan?" She questioned, shooting a piercing glare at Shinji, who stood firm as he returned the glare with his own patient eyes.

"I do not need you to accept the plan, nor do I need you for the plan. My Executors are more than enough to handle this, and if you have any objections with the way we will handle this, then please leave them after we put the plan into action." He stated coolly, unperturbed with Touko's cold glare.

Touko only rolled her eyes as she raised a her right pointer finger. "First off, this plan is stupid. Plain and simple. It involves putting people into unnecessary risk with just a smidgen of a chance for the plan to work. I can put out three plans that aren't as dangerous as this plan, with the same results." She raised her middle finger this time. "And second, you're underestimating Aemulo. He was a mage when he was alive. And being a mage means you're inherently paranoid about everything. I personally have contingencies for my contingencies, and as I am a mage, I will treat this target with the same way I handle my own problems. He could have plans to counteract your plans, and even plans for that plan should it go awry." Touko sighed as she dropped her fingers and raised her hand to the bridge of her nose before pinching it. "This is just one big headache."

"With all due respect magus," A female Executor from the crowd spoke up, her tone challenging. "But it doesn't' matter if you have plans for our plans. We do not trust you, and we'd sooner go in their blind and deaf than take an order from someone that could lead us to our death."

He flinched as Touko's eyes moved towards him, her eyes accusing. Something about her eyes told him that she was saying 'See what you did?'

But though Touko looked livid at him, a hand on his shoulder calmed him down somewhat. He turned to the owner of the hand, and found the reassuring smile of his teacher. Aoko gave him a reassuring smile, before she squeezed his shoulder. He was amazed at just how quick she could get his inhibitions out of the way with just a small smile and some physical contact.

"Don't worry," She began, leaning closer to him so that she was whispering in his ear. "She doesn't really blame you. She was just as surprised as you are when your plan didn't work. She's just annoyed that the Executors would sooner throw themselves to their deaths than agree to work with us." Aoko finished.

Aoko let go of his shoulder, and gave him another smile, before she turned back to the argument that was happening between Touko and the angry Executors. He watched as the Executors hurled hidden insults in their words, to which Touko responded with cold logic, telling them that the plan they were so sure would work would kill off more than half of them.

He wanted to step in, he honestly really did. But he wasn't much of a talker, he actually thought if he joined into the shouting match, he'd just make things worse. And judging from the glares he caught from Touko as he tried to open his mouth, it looked like she didn't want him joining either.

"Brothers and sisters, please." He turned his head and watched as the blue-haired Executor that had kissed him – he felt his ears start to warm at the memory – step up and address the angry Executors. "This is not time to start fighting against the Magi in our midst. They offer us help, and who are we to turn them away?"

"They are blasphemers!" One Executor shouted from the crowd. He could feel the anger roll off his words. "They use sorcery that trespasses onto God's domain! They cannot be trusted with so much as a piece of rock without them turning it into gold! What more of our lives?!"

"Okay, first off. We do not turn rocks into gold." Touko interjected, snorting derisively at the Executors words. "You even got the materials mixed up. Metal is what you're thinking of, and even then, turning metal into gold is impossible, even with current alchemy. In fac-" Touko was cut off by Carrie, who had given her an apologetic smile for interrupting her. He couldn't help but sense the fakeness of the smile, but didn't think too much of it.

"If they are blasphemers, then what are we? We use the same techniques they use, with the only difference about it being in the name of God. But this isn't about us brothers and sisters. No, it was never about us." Carrie spoke, her voice clear as she swept her gaze through the crowd. "It is about the Dead Apostle!" She shouted, and he winced at the volume of her voice.

"It doesn't matter if blasphemers help us in our mission. For they are not our enemy, our enemy is there!" She pointed towards the Forest of swords, and almost all the heads started turning towards it. "While we squabble and fight, our enemy rests! While we put blame onto our allies, our enemy gathers strength! It does not matter if they are blasphemers, because what good will blasphemy do if they are dead? What good are we to God if we are dead?" At her words, every Executor started looking at each other, and though most of their hooded faces couldn't be read, he could at least see their nervousness, their, uncertainty.

"My brothers and sisters, I did not say to trust them, I did not say we should listen to them, after all, blasphemers' words will cloud our judgment." He watched as the each Executor turned towards Carrie again, their backs straighter, but still holding a smidgen of doubt. "We listen to our own; we do what we believe is right. We don't need to listen to their plans if we doubt them so." Carrie inhaled, before she spoke again, her voice firm. "But that doesn't mean we shouldn't trust them with our lives. If we continue to act suspicious to them, we may as well hang ourselves! This is a battlefield, this is war! We fight, because we want to live, we want to save lives! The Apostle in that castle takes lives, and it is our job, as Executors and as Enforcers, to take him down."

He had to give Carrie credit, that was an amazing speech to get people to keep going. And judging from the looks the Executors were giving each other, it worked spectacularly.

"Thank you sister," Shinji spoke up next as he stepped forward. "Brothers and sisters, we do not have to trust them, but for the ease of both parties, I pray that you all join me in becoming the better human. As our sister has stated, they are not our enemy. The enemy is in that castle. The enemy is not human."

"And to our counterpart from the Magi's Association." Shinji turned towards Touko, but he knew he was addressing all four of them. "We do not mean to insult your ideas or your planning skills, but as it stands, we went with your first plan, and that failed. We sat back and watched it unfold, we ask the same courtesy from you."

Touko let out a sigh, before she shook her head. "Fine." She consented before she shot him a glare. He flinched, yeah, it looks like she was still rather pissed with him. "I believe in equivalent exchange. We'll trust you this time, but if this plan does not work, I trust that you have a backup." Her last words were more statement than question, as he could detect she wouldn't have it any other way. Shinji only nodded his head at the puppet.

"Very well, I thank you for your trust." At this point he realized it was all pleasantries. They would trust each other on this mission, even with their lives, but after the mission was over, they would revert back to being passive-aggressive at best. Hopefully, they wouldn't skip the passive part and be outright aggressive.

"Now, brothers and sisters, we shall put into motion the plan later, when the sun has reached its zenith in the sky. For now, rest, for a fight will be had." Shinji declared, dismissing the Executors. The crowd dispersed rather quickly, and soon, all seven of them – 4 magi and 3 Executors – were left on the podium that oversaw the previous crowd.

"That actually went better than I expected." He heard Aoko mutter from beside him. He turned towards her, raising an eyebrow in question at her statement, she only replied by shaking her head. "My sister isn't really pleasant. Especially if she thinks people are going against logic or are just being pig-headed." That… actually made sense.

"I guess that's why you and your sister don't get along?" He supplied, hopefully getting why Aoko and Touko seemed to be in their respective hit-list. He was surprised however, by Aoko giving him a faint smile, almost rueful if he thought about it.

"That's… one of the reasons." Aoko spoke tentatively. He wanted to push the topic, but judging from Aoko's tired eyes, and her change in demeanor, that wouldn't really be appreciated.

"I… see." He said as he looked away awkwardly. Leave it to him to make conversation awkward. He glimpsed over at his teacher, and wasn't at all surprised to see her staring at her sister with eyes that he couldn't quite understand. Regret? No, that wasn't it. Was it longing? Probably, but still…

"Shirou." He jumped a little as he heard someone call his name just behind him. He turned around and he was met with his brown-haired pony-tailed, one-sleeved student.. Again, he had to question why she was his student when he was a student too. But did not voice that question out lout, it was a useless question that would probably result in more headaches than answers. If he was really unlucky, probably both.

"Yes Lorelei?" He turned towards her, his eyebrow raised as he pushed his previous thoughts to the back of his head.

"We haven't had a lesson in awhile." She told him, and again, he could only stare dumbly at her. Err, now that he thought about it, she was right. True, he had hastily tried going to Rome to get Aemulo, but that wasn't an excuse as to why he hadn't been a teacher and had tried helping her before his moment of impulsiveness.

Be that as it may however, he wasn't a teacher. At all. He had tried teaching Lorelei his Tracing, but the last time she had tried it, she couldn't quite grasp what he was talking about. He even had to explain to her that Tracing and Projecting are different things. Both may have come from the same branch of magic, but they were different enough for him to segregate them. Add to the fact that for some reason, Lorelei had been stuck in one of the processes of Tracing, namely the sympathizing process. He honestly didn't get why, it was easy, easiest step to him really. Though in hindsight, maybe he shouldn't have started with a sword, he had only chosen to start there because swords and other weapons came easy to him. But that didn't automatically translate to his student.

He let out a sigh, he wasn't a teacher. Rin had thought him during his War, and he could at least use her teaching as reference, but still, he simply wasn't a teacher.

"Well, how about we go back in our tent and go over what I've already taught you." He shrugged as he turned around and gestured for Lorelei to follow. More than likely, Shinji would call for them when their plan would go into action; all they really had to do was wait.

He craned his head however, when he heard not one set of footsteps following him, but two. He was met with Lorelei and Aoko walking side by side following him. Aoko only gave him a small grin. "I want to see how you handle teaching on your own Shirou," She explained. "Don't mind me too much."

He gave her another look, before he shrugged and faced forward.

**XxX**

She bowed, allowing her hair to flow forward and cover her eyes. She could feel her knees tremble on the cold stone floor, but otherwise, didn't let any other weaknesses show. After all, she was her master's servant. Any weakness from her will be reflected onto her master.

"Lilly," Her master spoke. She raised her head as she stared at her master's back. Her eyes darted towards the sword he was carrying. It was rather large, even for her master's taste. It had no guard, and its triangular blade was large enough to cover the top of the hilt. She had seen swords like this before, a Xiphos, a Greek sword. Though it was a different type of sword then her master's regular one, it still looked positively plain. The only difference being was that this sword, this unsightly weapon radiating power that surprised even her, who had seen power before, who had wielded power because of her master.

"What of our escorts?" Her master asked, she bowed her head again. Not out of reverence, but out of shame. Dominating that woman proved to be quite… troublesome.

"It does not go well." She didn't lie, lying would get her killed. Her master appreciated straight and true facts, not half-lies that were also half-truths.

Her master didn't react aside from tightening his grip on the Xiphos. She flinched all together however. She did not want to be the first her master tested that sword against. Just looking at the strange sword gave her shivers. And she didn't get cold. "Explain." Her master voiced, and she took a deep breath to try and calm her dead nerves.

"She proves resilient to mind attacks." She explained, pausing to try and think of a better way to articulate what she had in mind. "Her mind isn't strong," she said cautiously. "No, it is by far as weak as a regular human without magical circuits in their body."

"Oh?" Her master turned towards her, and she in turn deepened her bow. "Then why is she proving to be quite the trouble for you?" He asked, his tone more curious than mocking. But she knew that his words were double-edged. To target her incompetence, and to just ask why. She didn't hold it against him however, she reveled at the attention.

"I…" She paused again, never mind that she would get punished for faltering in her speech, she really had no idea how to articulate this point. At all. "I have tried breaking her with pain, pleasure, or even just dominating her. But all she does is heave and expel whatever damage I seem to do. It is not her mind I suspect, but an ingrained defense that was thought to her in her unconsciousness. Her personal unconscious if you will." Jungian sure, but it was better than saying she was just resistant.

"Hmm," Her master hummed, she could see her master's feet shuffle in front of her. But thankfully, he wasn't walking forward towards her. If he had been doing that, she would have stopped unliving. "Curious to be sure. But can you break her soon? I'm sure the Executors and the Magi are especially jumpy now that they know that my Forest cannot be brushed away so easily."

She did not hesitate in answering, even though she knew it was more lie than truth. She would get punished for this, but it was better than disappointing her master. "Yes. I think I can."

A pause, before she caught sight of her master's feet moving forward. His brown leather boots resounding footsteps echoed in the stone-room. "You think?"

She didn't flinch, but she did shudder. "Yes master. I think." Be truthful now, no more half-lies.

She felt the cold steel of his Xiphos land on her head. The tip piercing the top of her head and drawing blood that was absorbed by her hair. "I need more than an 'I think' Lilly. Is she so much of a troublesome woman that even my best aide cannot dominate her?"

"Yes." She didn't say anything else, only confirming her master's words. She could feel the tip of the sword push into her scalp, and with its light probing, she could feel power begin to coalesce into the point of the sword and into her skin. She could feel the edges of the small wound begin to fizzle, begin to heat. And then pain followed, deep pain that should not have been possible from just that small point wound. But even though it was unbearable, it was powerful, and it was agonizing, she didn't scream. No, that wasn't right, it wasn't 'she didn't', it was 'she couldn't'.

The pain was very real, but she couldn't give any indication that it really did hurt. She could only keep her head bowed. She didn't know how long the pain lasted, how long the bubbling sensation of the wound lasted, but by the end of it, her master was still in front of her, the sword's tip now no longer on her head.

"Take it." Her head snapped up immediately. Surely after Heracles, he wouldn't give her another?

"Take it Lilly, use this to break her. To make her bend to your will." Tentatively, she looked up, only to see that her master had started to cradle the sword with both hands. One on the hilt, while the other was on the flat of the blade, he reached out and made to give it to her.

Nervously, she reached for it, faltering at the last second as she glanced at her master. "But is this not...?" She trailed, couldn't quite finish the sentence as she couldn't comprehend what she was even doing. The moment her hand touched the hilt, she felt raw power begin to coalesce around the sword's blade, before it started sliding downward. She noted that her master had let go of the sword, and that she was supporting the entire thing without help from him. The feeling of the power, it was intoxicating, mind numbingly intoxicating. And to her surprise, she stood, without prompt, she stood up. Allowing herself to stand level with her master.

Master? Why was he the master? With this sword, you could be the master, he the servant. You could be free. But no, that was wrong. He gave me this life, this second chance, I repay my debts. Debts are only good to those that are still alive. Kill him! Show him that you are the master now, that you ar-

She was pushed away from her thoughts of mutiny as her master literally pushed her down with a foot. "Silly girl, do not let the power consume you. I still control that sword, I am temporally loaning it to you in hopes that you can use it to break the woman."

She scrambled to her knees, bowing her head in shame unlike last time. She couldn't believe that had happened! It was so intoxicating, so powerful, so very powerful. She wondered what would happen if she struck her master, slashed him across the chest, see what would happen if she let her master's blood drip onto the cold ston-

Again, she was snapped out of those thoughts as a sharp pain erupted from her right shoulder. She looked at it, and was surprised to see an identical sword, identical to the one she still had gripped in her left hand, stabbed into it. Again, she could feel raw power coalesce, begin to encircle the sword, and then begin to seep into her wound. The pain was unbearable, but she could speak of it, she could shout in agony even though she willed it too. And again, before the encircling power could go any further, the sword was pulled free from her shoulder. She found that like before, she didn't sag as the pain disappeared, it was like the pain hadn't affected her body at all, only her mind.

"Do not mistake that sword as being the only one Lilly, that is merely a part of a whole." She dared to look up as she could feel prana begin to saturate the room. To her surprise, she found the same swords, the same Xiphos, in the air. Only this time, there wasn't just one, there were upwards to fifty of them in the air. Fifty that she could see, but she could feel that these swords were just as numerous as the ones outside in the Forest.

"Now go Lilly, the more time spent in here, the more time our hunter's have time to prepare their assault." She nodded dumbly, before she hastily stood and made to exit. The sword still in her hand in a deathgrip. But before she could fully exit the room however, she heard the sound of air getting cut. She barely rolled to the right as another identical Xiphos landed on the wall just parallel to the open door she had just opened.

She peered back inside, only to see her master's back as he held another Xiphos in his hands. Even though he was turned around, she could still see that he was admiring the blade, from the way he caressed it in his hands, to the way he stared at it close to his face. "Take another. Break her. Thoroughly."

She didn't respond aside from taking the second Xiphos and running down the hall.

**XxX**

"Wow." Aoko commented from behind him. He did his best to ignore it. "Is that really how you teach?"

He did his best to ignore it, but her cutting words were giving him a hard time focusing on Lorelei. He wasn't a teacher, he knew that. And even though Aoko's voice sounded more incredulous than mocking, it still didn't help alleviate the insecurity of being an inadequate teacher to someone else.

"I'm afraid this is really how he teaches." And Lorelei butting in right there didn't help matters any. "Though I cannot argue with results, his teaching methods prove to be quite… unsatisfactory."

"Hey, you learned it didn't you?" He sputtered indignantly. He wasn't one to get annoyed by these things, but still, Lorelei was his first student. His first job as a teacher of sorts. And though he didn't care about being a good teacher to himself, he couldn't let that reflect onto his student. Taiga had etched that into his mind. She was a model teacher actually, despite her rather lazy home self. She made sure to oversee Shirou's studies whenever she could be bothered, and when he had asked why she couldn't just let him mind his own business, her response was both endearing and rather self-depreciating.

"_Because I'm an anti-role model. What I do, you make sure you don't do." _She had said before she continued. _"And because being a lazy teacher doesn't excuse you from destroying your student's future."_ This was all said with a blank face, and that was the time he really figured out that Taiga Fujimura took her teaching seriously, despite her lazy persona.

Those words stuck to him, and it couldn't be applied any better than here. Because Lorelei wasn't just a regular student, she was his magical student. And in the magical world, you walk with death. He couldn't afford giving Lorelei faulty lessons and killing her in the long run.

His mind drifted to Kiritsugu. Archer had made mention of something during his war. About him learning poorly with his magic. He had first wanted to bark at him, tell him off that his father had thought him well. But Rin had told him that no, Kiritsugu was killing him by not teaching him the proper way of using Magic Circuits.

All the more reason he tried to be a good teacher. To which both Lorelei and Aoko were pointing out that his teaching method was less than satisfactory.

"Besides," He continued as he Projected another sword, this one with some history as it was used by a war maiden in Sweden. Lorelei immediately closed her eyes and held out her hands, intent on copying the sword. A few seconds later, and Lorelei had another identical sword in her palm. It wasn't perfect, he could tell with just a glance, the history wasn't complete, bits and pieces were missing that were required to make it as close to the original as possible, but otherwise, the sword that Lorelei had Projected was good. "You can't argue with my methods if it works."

"If it's stupid but works, it's not stupid." Aoko supplied from behind him. He turned towards her, and she only gave her a smile. To which he reciprocated a little.

"Exactly." He agreed to Aoko's words, but paused as he digested it. "Wait a minute… Did you just call me stupid?" He asked, honestly confused.

Aoko only gave him an amused raised eyebrow. "Nothing of the sort." She said as she stifled a giggle. "It's just your methods that are stupid." She added. Which only made him frown.

"This was how I managed to learn my magic." He explained as he turned towards Aoko, temporarily forgoing Lorelei. "And besides, you said it yourself, if it's stupid but works, it's not stupid."

Aoko only shook her head as she jumped off the table she was sitting on. She made her way towards Shirou, holding out her hand before she closed her eyes. He watched her, honestly curious as to what she was doing, and was surprised to see her Project a replica of the sword he had made Lorelei Trace.

Except… it wasn't exact. It was… hollow.

"You tell your student to feel the sword, to sympathize with it, to learn its history." Aoko began as she gave the sword an experimental twirl. He watched as a frown began to mar her face. "Yet that's something she cannot do as well as you. You tell her to sympathize, when you empathize, you tell her to read its memories, yet it is inanimate. You tell her to do the impossible, without telling her how to make the impossible possible." Aoko explained.

He could only stare blankly at her, unsure how to react to what she had said. Thankfully however, she continued. "Your teaching methods work, I can tell you that. But at the same time, it's not working to your best, to your expectations. And when you teach, you cannot-"

"Can't let your student fail for your incompetence." He finished for her, sighing as Aoko just voiced out what he had been thinking. Aoko smiled at him.

"Exactly." She finished as she dismissed the sword. "Projection isn't what I'm good at, and I can tell that was extremely faulty by your standards."

"It was hollow," He voiced. "No memories, no history, it was only a sword that was made with prana. A hastily made one at that."

"Alright oh master of Projection." Aoko teased him. "This humble novice bows in awe at your greatness."

He let out a small smile. "Stop that." He admonished, but a smile was still on his face. "I'm not a master, I just happen to know advanced versions of something simple."

"Simple he says." A new voice sounded from behind the curtain that separated the tent with the outside world. They all turned towards it, and watched as Touko appeared from behind it. A small scowl was on her face, but he could tell that she was amused with something. Probably at what he said. "Simple yet advanced. That's contradicting yourself. Your Tracing is far from simple, and it is a far cry from advanced Projection as well."

Touko then turned towards Aoko, and inclined her head slightly. "Blue," She greeted, to which Aoko only growled at her use of her nickname.

"Puppet." Aoko responded. Touko only smiled at her response.

"What do you mean by it being different?" This time, it was his student that voiced the question. He turned towards her, and found that she was now next to him, looking towards Touko in hope she would answer her question.

Touko walked forward, lighting another cigarette along the way. She placed the death-stick into her mouth, inhaled, before she finally answered. "It's Projection, yet it's also not. Projection turns a thought into something solid. Whether it was a memory, a blueprint you had in mind, or anything your imagination can possibly make. That is what Projection is." She exhaled, letting out a cloud of smoke that flew upwards.

"But Tracing isn't just simple Projection. It's not creating something from thought; it's not even creating something from nothing. He creates something through memories, I can bet that if we took a random sword he has never seen before and showed it to him, he can Project it to pinpoint accuracy that the owner of the sword would be hard-pressed to figure out what's the difference." Touko explained as she tapped her cigarette, letting the ash that had stuck on the burnt end of it fall to the ground. He frowned at the action, but otherwise, kept himself from admonishing her. Now wasn't the time.

"Wait," Aoko spoke up. Everyone turned towards her. "Are you telling me that he can read a sword just be a glance?" She asked, and Touko only shrugged.

"I have no idea actually. But it certainly looks that way." Her eyes suddenly gleamed with something he couldn't quite place, and he unconsciously took a step backwards. He didn't like the look in her eyes. It looked… hungry, greedy even.

He didn't get past those thoughts however, as Aoko suddenly grabbed his face and pulled him down towards her. His head was now level with hers, and he fought hard to keep from blushing as her face was dangerously close to him. What made it worse was that she was looking deep into his own eyes, her crimson eyes flashed, and he swallowed nervously. Just what was she-?

Aoko released a sigh before she let go of his face. He hastily straightened himself, unsure as to why Aoko had just done that. "No, it's not some sort of Eye." Eye?

He turned towards Touko, who let out a disappointed sigh. "Shame, it would have been a good experiment." Experiment?

"My grandmother has a list of Eyes in her desk." He turned towards Lorelei, who had crossed her arms over her chest. "And Sword-reading Eyes are not in them." Somehow, he figured that the word 'eye' was a proper noun. With a capital letter in the front of it.

"Wait, what are we talking about?" He finally voiced out. Turning towards Aoko, who only gave him an amused smile before shaking her head.

"Never mind, it's nothing." She told him, denying him the satisfaction of being in the loop. He frowned, but before he could press the subject, Aoko changed it. "Anyway, if it's not Eyes, then what do you think is it?" Aoko asked her sister.

He turned towards Touko, only to see that she was now smirking as the cigarette was in her mouth. "It's simple really." She said, almost matter-of-factly. "His Origin."

Silence. He turned towards his teacher, and found that she was busy contemplating what Touko had said. He then turned towards Lorelei, who was staring at him with a frown, lost in her own thoughts. And then he turned back to Touko, who had finished her cigarette, and was in the process of lighting another one.

"Err," He began. Snapping the women out of their thoughts as they turned towards him. "I feel like I'm going to sound stupid for asking this question, but what exactly is an Ori-" He didn't finish his sentence as the sound of scraping metal suddenly erupted.

He didn't cover his ears, he was used to the sound of metal scraping metal, so he only ran out as quickly as he could. He noted that Aoko had followed shortly, followed by Lorelei, while Touko had her hands to her ears as she ran out last, her cigarette still in her mouth.

As soon as he exited the tent, he made his way towards the Forest, and from the running Executors beside him, he could tell they had the same idea. Though they probably were just as lost as he was as to what was really happening.

He felt someone run up next to him, and inclined his head to them. He found that it was the blue-haired Executor that had kissed (pecked) him last night. "What's going on?" He asked her.

"I have no idea." She shrugged, adjusting her armor as she kept running. "But I have an idea."

"Which is…?" He trailed as they finally arrived to the beginning of the Forest of Swords, only to see that a path had cleared. A thin path that only one person could possibly walk through. The sides of the path had swords that were scraping each other, and it was only then did he figure out that the scraping had been in rhythm with something.

Footsteps.

He stopped in front of the path, Projecting Kanshou in his right hand before he took a fighting stance. Carrie mirrored his actions as she took out what looked like red crosses from her back pocket.

A quick look at the crosses told him that they were much more than they seemed.

"What are-" He didn't get to finish what he was saying as the sound of metal rasping on metal stopped. He turned towards the path that had cleared, and found that the swords had stopped moving.

"Halt!" He heard the familiar voice of his escort, Heathcliff, sound from somewhere in front. He was addressing that order to the woman that had emerged the Forest's path. She had a lanky build, a bob-cut hair style that he couldn't tell if they were black, or dark green in color, and her eyes were… for lack of a better word, blank.

She was wearing a black long-sleeved polo, with black slacks and black leather shoes. All in all, the woman looked much more like an assassin than a vampire. But then again, he hadn't seen a vampire as of yet.

They were void, she looked like a puppet, something without a soul. And in her right hand, a xiphos, the edge of the blade was getting dragged through the ground. Causing an indent that split the dirt as she moved forward.

He observed the woman, and then the sword. He stared at it, examined it, scrutinized it. But he couldn't comprehend it.

The only thing that alerted him that it was a powerful sword was the fact that it seemed to ooze power and malice in handfuls. He didn't like that feeling, of not being able to understand a sword, of not being at least helpful figuring out how to counter it.

"I said halt!" Again Heathcliff shouted, but the woman did not stop her gait, she only continued forward. "If you do not cease your walking, we will be forced to take you down!" He warned, he finally caught sight of where the man was. And right beside him, he could see both Angela and Yuri right beside him. All three were readying themselves, presumably to intercept the woman.

The woman paused in her steps, and stared blankly at the crowd that had gathered. She didn't blink, only stared. And he found that he was slightly unnerved with the fact that she seemed to stare right through them.

"Dominated." He looked towards Aoko, who had spoken the word. He narrowed his eyes in question, but before he could voice his query, she continued speaking. "She's isn't in control of her actions. Her eyes aren't red, so they didn't turn her, but still…" Aoko shifted uncomfortably, he could see her eyes shift, and he could tell that she could sense the power emanating from the sword as well.

She turned to him, her eyes hard. "Can you Grasp that sword?" He was already shaking his head as she asked.

"No, whatever that is, it's the same as Hector. Only…" He paused as he frowned. "Only much more complex."

"Great." Aoko muttered under her breath. He turned back towards the woman, who had resumed her walking towards them. He could see from his peripheral vision that the trio that had approached him were getting ready to strike.

In the blink of an eye, they took off.

He had to admit, they were fast, inhumanely so. There was at least ten meters that separated them from the woman, and they had crossed that in a second. They were faster than an Olympic runner. In the second that they had surrounded the woman, they had surrounded her, Heathcliff in the front, Yuri and Angela in the back. In between their fingers were the same red crosses that were being held by Carrie. Another second passed, and the crosses glowed purple, before blades erupted from them. He held back his surprise as in the next second, the trio had began to swipe their blades downwards.

The blades never left their fingers.

Faster than the trio, the woman had spun on her heel, dragging the sword through the air as it slashed right across the trio's respective chests. Strangely enough, they looked more surprised than hurt from the strike. But he likened it to the milliseconds it took for the brain to register pain. The woman had then spun around a second time, but instead of slashing, she had instead hooked Angela's side with her leg, and dragged her through her momentum. Angela collided with Yuri, and then Yuri with Heathcliff. She had then pushed them all off, sending the trio flying back towards them. He rushed forward and managed to save them from crashing onto the ground.

He was surprised, the trio may have been fast, but the woman had been faster. It took the trio three seconds to go with their plan, but the woman only took two and a half to strike them all and kick them back. He had to wonder if she was a magus as well, or maybe being dominated made them much more… powerful.

He was about to ask if the trio was fine, but a singly glance towards them told him that was far from the case.

Their eyes, filled with mirth and understanding just that morning, now were devoid of any emotion except for pain. Unshed tears were threatening to fall from Yuri's eyes, and he was surprised to see them all open and close their mouths without sound. Though they didn't show any outward sign of being in pain, their eyes told him differently. He doubted that if he asked what was wrong, they would answer.

Shaking his head, he turned back towards the woman and her sword, ignoring the other's that had come forward to try and help. He glanced at the woman, her dead eyes staring at him in curiosity, before he turned towards the sword.

Again, he couldn't quite understand it, couldn't quite grasp it. He grit his teeth as his mind told him nothing about him, as his World refused to read it. Finally, an idea popped into his head. It was a long shot, no, that wasn't right. It was nigh impossible that he could be right, but then again, impossible and Shirou Emiya did not mix.

He pushed the trio's bodies off him, not caring at all that he was rather crude with the handling of their suffering bodies. They were in a world of their own, in pain and suffering. So they probably did not feel him pushing them off.

He stepped forward, and closed his eyes. He called upon his world, but instead of calling it to appear, to disrupt the real world, he allowed it to crawl inside his body, to turn his body into blades.

"**My body is made of Swords." **He reopened his eyes and his eyes drifted to the sword. Finally, he could at least understand the basics of it.

He couldn't quite record it, but he could at least sympathize with it. He read the surface, and what he found made him bite his lower lip in frustration.

Finally, after another three seconds of just blankly staring at the thing, he closed his eyes and allowed his World to dissipate from inside him. He turned his back on the woman and the sword, before he moved forward, towards the trio that was suffering.

He absentmindedly Projected a sword, he didn't bother pulling out anything else. The Executors around him stared at him in horror, stared at where he was going, and made to stop him from doing what they thought he was doing.

"Shirou!" He flinched slightly at hearing his teacher's voice. But he didn't turn towards her, he couldn't look her in the eyes after what he resolved he was going to do. "What are you doing?!"

He didn't respond, and only continued forward. He was blocked from his path by an Executor, who had another one of those crosses in his hands. He looked ready to use it on him now that he thought about it.

"Step back." He ordered. He didn't. He only stepped forward, brushing past him and towards the trio that was suffering.

"I said stop!" He felt the man's hand on his shoulder, but as soon as it appeared, it disappeared just as swiftly. He turned towards the Executor, only to see Lorelei holding the man's arm in a lock. She looked up at him, her brown eyes meeting his own. Before she spoke.

"Strike swiftly." Was all she said, before she continued to hold the man's arm in a lock. He nodded to her in thanks, before he turned and finally leaned down in front of Heathcliff.

"I'm…" He grit his teeth as he readied his sword. The sword's blade was on the man's temple, and the Heathcliff seemed to register that he was about to get killed. "…Sorry I couldn't save you." He muttered before he plunged the blade down the man's head.

The sickening squelch of the sword moving through the man's head echoed through the silent forest. After a second, the man's eyes dulled, and he pulled the sword out and made his way to the other two.

A hand gripped his shoulder, it was strong, but he didn't budge from what he was going to do. "_What have you done?"_ He wasn't at all surprised to hear Shinji's voice.

He didn't respond, and only pulled his shoulder away from Shinji's hand. He took a step forward, but Shinji's hand still found his shoulder.

"_Stop. They can be saved."_ It was an order, an order that would have consequences should he not listen to it. But he couldn't listen to it, it wouldn't be right. From just reading the surface of the sword, he knew that not killing them would be a punishment.

"_They can't." _He responded in Japanese. _"The sword… gives pain._" That was all he said before he kneeled down and plunged the sword in Angela the same way he had done to Heathcliff.

He wasn't surprised to feel Shinji's leg land on his shoulder. And had it not been for the fact that he had been readying his body for it, it would have no doubt sent him flying. But as it stands, he rooted himself on the ground, he would give them mercy.

"_Stop!"_ Shinji shouted, but he didn't stop. He leaned forward while pulling out the sword from Angela's head. And then plunged the sword into Yuri's own.

A second later, and he pulled it out of the cadaver that had been Yuri. He allowed the blade to dissipate, before he turned towards Shinji. He couldn't quite meet the man's eye, but he could tell that he had a look of anger and anguish on his face.

"Let me handle the woman." He spoke in English, so that everyone understood. "Do not fight her. That sword… causes pain." It did much more than that, much much more. But he couldn't quite articulate what else it did. "They…" He took a deep breath as he looked behind him to the cadavers of the trio that he had just euthanized. "They were going to suffer for the rest of their lives. This was for the best."

He couldn't save them. But at least he could save them from their suffering. He stepped past Shinji, who was still staring at the bodies of the trio. "Do not fight her." Was all he said before he continued forward. Past Lorelei who had been staring at him with an emotion he couldn't quite place, and Aoko who was looking at him with horror and slight anger, but with that anger came confusion. He didn't hold it against her, he would tell her later.

He had just walked past the crowd, but a hand on his shoulder stopped him from taking another step forward towards the woman. The grip wasn't hard, and it felt dainty even. He turned towards the owner, and found that it was Touko, with the child Larry right beside her.

"I'm guessing the sword is a torture device?" She asked. He didn't nod his head at first, after all, to call that thing a torture device would be sugarcoating it, but he finally relented and did nod at Touko.

"In a way, it is." He said. Touko frowned at his answer, but didn't push anymore.

"Well, if you're going to fight someone like that, make sure you don't get sliced with the same sword." For a second, he could feel some sort of worry emanate from Touko, but in a flash, it was gone. Almost as if it hadn't been there in the first place.

He didn't say anything, and only nodded towards her again. He then turned towards the child Executor. Who had been staring at him in wonder as he talked with Touko.

"You'll avenge them?" He asked him. He didn't answer. He… couldn't avenge them. The woman, Aoko had said that she was dominated. So killing her wouldn't solve anything, the person that had dominated her would just continue with their hiding and command people from the shadows.

"I…can't." He sighed as he refused to look at Larry. "She wasn't in the right state of mind, killing her wouldn't put their souls to rest."

"Then I fight her," Larry suddenly said, surprising him. He turned towards the child, only to see that he was now right beside him. About to step forward. "You find the one that controls her, and make her pay."

He wanted to argue, but Carrie's voice from behind him stopped him from doing so. "Let him do his thing." She said as he turned towards her. She was accompanied by some Executors, as well as Lorelei and Aoko. "It's hard to get him to disagree with you, as he'll just do whatever he wants to without much prompting."

"But-" He was cut-off by Carrie shaking his head at her.

"Don't argue. The kid is tougher than he looks." She told him. "Anyway, we now have a path, assuming that it doesn't collapse on us as we run through it, now's the best time to use our legs and make a beeline for the tower." Carrie said as she finally reached him and patted him on the shoulder.

He was still apprehensive, but her eyes told him he really shouldn't argue. So instead of arguing, he noted mutely. Carrie smiled at him. "Good boy." She praised him like a dog, complete with a pat on the head that made him scowl. "When the fighting starts, we make a run for the path." She told him as she lead the group of Executors' to the side of the presumed battlefield.

Touko, Aoko, and Lorelei stayed behind with him. He wasn't surprised to hear Aoko speak first, but he was surprised with what she said. "Tell me about the sword later," She told him as he stared at her. Her crimson eyes tearing into his golden ones. "But right now, we finish the mission." He nodded in consent.

"Let's get ready." Lorelei began, turning towards him. "The fight between the Executor and the woman is about to start. Hopefully, we can run fast enough to not get caught in the crossfire."

"I'll stay behind." Touko spoke next. Aoko turned towards her sister, shooting her a dirty look.

"You'll let us do the dirty work for you Puppet?" Aoko growled. Touko only gave her a smirk.

"Exactly." She unabashedly replied. "Now get going, I'll be taking notes on how this Executor fights. He's piqued my interest."

Shaking her head at her sister's words, Aoko looked back forward. She took a step, but then turned back towards him. "Come on, worry about your euthanizing later." She told him as he gestured for him to move.

"Let's go Shirou." Lorelei prompted him. "Worry about the other things later, focus on the bigger problem at hand." She said before she was off.

"Listen to them," Touko added. He turned towards her, only to be met with a cloud of smoke to the face. He coughed as he waved his hand to try and disperse the cloud. "This is the start of the climax kid, don't let yourself get caught flat-footed because you're still in the rising-action phase." Her words were strange, he guessed that it was jargon of some kind, but he could at least understand the gist of it.

He nodded towards her. "Yeah," Was all he said before he faced forward and ran, he circled to the side of the duo that were about to go at it, and finally reached the group of Executors plus Aoko and Lorelei.

"When the fighting starts, we make a beeline for the path that the woman came from. Don't stop, don't falter, and most important of all, don't trip." Carrie's voice sounded from the crowd. He turned towards Lorelei, who nodded at him, and then to Aoko, who also nodded at him.

They were ready, now all they had to wait for was…

He turned towards Larry, and he saw bend his legs and shoot forward, the same red crosses with blades in his hands. The trio had been fast, the woman faster, but as it stood, Larry had been the fastest so far. His lithe body and light weight probably made him faster and more agile than most of the others in the Executor party.

The woman however, had blocked the blades from Larry with her Xiphos. The ring of steel meeting steel echoed, and he wasn't at all surprised to hear Carrie suddenly shout.

"Go!"

He ran with the crowd, and, just like Carrie had told them, he didn't look back. No matter how much he wanted to.

**XxX**

**And done!**

**Damn, I'm sorry for taking two months to update this. I've just been so busy with school, my other fics, and just life in general.**

**Anyway, this chapter is the rising-action part of the arc, and hopefully, the next chapter will have the climax and the falling-action as well. If not, well, we have three more chapters for this arc anyway.**

**Tell me what you guys think. Did I make the Executors realistic? How about the trio that appeared in this chapter? It had occurred to me that I had never named that escort, and thus, he is now dubbed as Heathcliff! Unless of course, I did name him and just forgot. If that is the case, please forgive me. I will double-check later.**

**Have not proofread this. It's night, and I'm sleepy. I'll get to it tomorrow. Hopefully.**

**C.O.Y.L out, peace!**

**PS: I'm thinking of changing my pen name. C.O.Y.L, is sorta unimaginative. I mean, it's just my initials… I probably shouldn't have said that. But ah well. You guys probably don't care either way. :P**

**PPS: Let's get to 500 reviews and 1k favs and follows! Come on! Please? I'll be all y'all best friends!... Okay, that sounded desperate. But still, almost there! I can feel it in mah bones!**


	20. Apostle

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

**And back here. How long has it been? Two months? Now if you've already probably seen my author page, and saw that I said that this fic is a piece of crap. And to be completely honest with you, it is. But here's the thing. Even if I see it as a piece of crap, I won't stop writing it. Why? Because I still have pride in it. I wrote this, and I plan on finishing it. It's my work after all.**

**Why do I think it's a piece of crap? Well, I could go on a tirade about it, but I'll give you a brief summary. My writing is hypocritical, a lot of fanon that I thought was right is on here, and a lot of things I just don't agree with generally. To fix this, I'm rewriting the earlier chapters, but I'm also going to give my absolute best with the next few chapters. I'm not going to retcon anything, I'll make sure that everything I've written won't have a discrepancy, only the small details that I'll change that won't have too much an affect on the story itself. That is to say that I didn't do my best in the last chapters, but right now, I feel like my writing has really improved, and now I can give something that will honestly make me switch from thinking this is a piece of crap that I'm proud of, to this is a piece of my work that I am hella proud of.**

**With that said, on with the show.**

**Oh, one last thing. Riza is the English equivalent of a certain name. I'm surprised no one called out to me about that yet. Ah well, regardless, she has Servant class strength, particularly B-strength. **

**XxX**

He heard the sound of metal clashing with metal meters behind him. He didn't look back however; as he had to keep his attention to the open path that the swords had opened for them.

The path wasn't at all a straight line, it curved from left to right, it went just about any direction it could. It didn't help that the path was getting smaller and smaller as they went, as before, where they could fit three people with enough berth side to side so as to not be uncomfortable, now the path could only support a single file line.

He was second to the front, while Aoko was just behind him, Lorelei was behind her, and the Executor Carrie right in front of him. The other Executors were behind Lorelei, and were having just a tough a time as he did with trying to keep on the path. He knew that if they strayed from it, the swords would instantly recognize whoever stepped out of bounds as a threat, and the person would get skewered to death.

Still, the path was strange in of itself. The swords that cleared the path were all floating just beside the path. They weren't attacking them, even if they probably knew what they intended to do when they got to their destination. It was like… they were waiting for them to get there.

He made sure that the path was relatively straight, before he glanced back towards his teacher. She caught his eye, and she nodded, seemingly understanding his question. It was strange how they could practically read each other's minds now, they had only known each other for a couple of days, but they had created a means of communication to show the worries to the other without so much as talking.

"The master of the castle is probably expecting us." Aoko gestured towards the swords, making sure to keep his hands and arms inside the path as she did so. "Probably why he pulled out the red carpet."

He turned back forward before he responded. "Something just doesn't feel right though." That was an understatement, there was an inherent sense of wrongness here. And most of it didn't come from the copies of Hector around, though the different copies definitely made things wrong for him since Hector was only one sword and having so many different forms of it actually made his brain hurt from trying to Grasp what exactly its true form was.

"This is a given." Lorelei spoke up. "We're in an Apostle's playground. An Apostle that can use Prana at that, it's of no wonder why it feels inherently wrong here. Apostles are freaks of nature that shouldn't exist, the same could be said with magic, add those two together and you have something foreign calling Gaia home." Lorelei explained as they weaved through another set of curves that made the path narrow.

"It's not that the world feels wrong, I know that it should feel wrong." He began to explain. "It just feels like… something is misplaced." He really couldn't quite place what was wrong. And he couldn't put it into words what he felt. He was never articulate about these things, but… something was misplaced. He could feel something was wrong, but he couldn't pinpoint what.

"Perhaps it's your nerves." He heard Carrie say from the front. "Is this your first time fighting for your life?"

"No." His answer was immediate, and that had caused the blue-haired woman to look behind him with an arced eyebrow as if in question. "I'm not nervous really. But… it feels strange, this path." He focused on the path they were walking on, with the walls of swords right next to them floating just out of reach. "Why narrow down the path way? And why allow us go this far? The Apostle should know that us getting near him would be bad. But he doesn't do anything to stop us." He explained.

Carrie nodded her head in understanding before she faced back front. "I understand." She began as the path suddenly swerved and took on a straight path. "But you must understand, Apostles are beings with hubris. Especially those that were once living magi, so it should be a given they would try and confront us all with full strength."

That was a contradiction, he knew that. He cast a glance back, and saw that Aoko was frowning, while Lorelei had a contemplative look on her face. It seems they both knew what he was thinking, as Aoko nodded her head at him, while Lorelei only shook her head to signify she understood why he was feeling bad.

Magi didn't fight head on. They were certainly trained for hand to hand combat, but Aemulo wasn't a magus from the modern times. He was alive for a long time, and only recently did Magi start training themselves in hand to hand combat. So the feeling that something was misplaced, it was that Aemulo was going to fight them head on. More than likely, they were willingly walking into a trap.

"That's contradictory." He pointed out to Carrie. She turned her head slightly towards him, allowing her left eye to stare at him. "Aemulo has lived for a long time, and was a magus before he died. A magus that was born before modern times wouldn't attempt to fight head on; they would fight as far as they could, use their mysteries to overwhelm their opponent from afar."

"And if he was really a magus, he would have used the forest itself to kill us all." Aoko continued for him. "The forest is under his control, and it is a mystery that can easily overpower us if used correctly. So whatever he has planned inside his castle, we can expect that it is much worse than this forest."

"Regardless." They all turned their heads towards Lorelei. "We cannot turn back now, and if he really were a magus, using the forest would be a last resort. More than likely, he would use another of his own works to kill us, preferably in one strike." Lorelei then smirked slightly, he had to admit, and it suited her, smirking that is. Her cold demeanor along with her pride wouldn't allow her to lose a fight that dealt with mysteries. "And I wouldn't have it any other way. He is an abomination that should be put down, and regardless of what he has in store, we will defeat him."

He agreed with Lorelei on that, and from the look that Aoko gave, it looked like she did too. Though she was a little wary with Lorelei's wording. He shook his head, before he faced back forward, he noticed that Carrie was shaking her head.

"Magi." He heard Carrie mutter. "Their pride will be the death of them." He agreed with that, but thankfully, he was a magic-user and not a proper magus… though under Aoko's tutelage and his Lorelei's lessons, he was beginning to look like a proper magus now… still a third-rate one at that, but he was close to becoming second-rate… at least, he thought he was.

Thankfully, his mindset wasn't that of a magus. That would have been…undesirable.

"Look sharp." He looked up, towards Carrie, but his sight didn't land on her, instead, it focused on the background behind her, and he couldn't really stop himself. The image in front of him reminded him very much of old horror stories about old castles.

There was no mist, but there was a darkness here that wasn't natural. The darkness was the absence of light, but there was a certain wrongness with the darkness that was surrounding the castle, it wasn't that it lacked light, it was more like the light was retreating from it. He could see this darkness encompassing the outline of the castle, giving it an unholy glow. He swallowed the lump in his throat as they continued forward.

He looked over Carrie's shoulder and towards their destination, he could see that the path was still narrow, but it was leading towards a giant pair of doors that were opened. Well, it looked like their target was openly inviting them inside.

"Keep your weapons at the ready." Carrie spoke up, and immediately after that, he heard the numerous Executors behind his group start drawing their weapons. He couldn't look back and see what they all pulled out, so instead, he focused on his Circuits and called for his own.

"Trace On." He felt the familiar weight of Kanshou and Bakuya in his hands. He had Projected these two weapons so much that he didn't really need to remember what they were made of, or what their history was. It was second nature to him now. Still, he could feel that it was still inferior to His. He wasn't there at His level yet, but he was getting closer.

"Looks like the prey is playing the hunter." He heard Aoko comment from behind him. He didn't turn to her and instead focused on the door and the area right behind it. He couldn't really make out what was inside, but he could… smell death right behind it.

"It reeks of death." Carrie commented in front of him. He agreed, whatever was waiting behind those doors, it wouldn't be anything good. "Keep your guard up. Who knows how many familiars this freak has." Carrie warned them all as she pulled out her own set of weapons. Particularly the strange blades stored into red crosses. She pulled out four, with two in each hand, before she sped forward. He cursed as he tried to catch up to her, but his feet failed him as Carrie arrived at the door a full four seconds before they could.

"Come on!" He heard Aoko shout from behind him. He cursed himself for being so slow, before he ran as fast as he could. Finally, he arrived and entered the castle. And the first thing he had to do was block a strike with Bakuya that was coming for his throat.

He narrowed his eyes, before he pivoted his foot and slammed the blunt end of Kanshou at the person that had attacked him.

With a shout of pain, the man that had tried to split his throat from his body flew back, he had channeled some of His power into that, but due to the fact that he had used the blunt edge, the man was more than injured rather then dead. Still, he at least managed to get a good glimpse of who had attacked him.

A man with a bowler haircut of black hair, his facial features weren't really striking, and aside from the red eyes and the fangs, the man looked rather plain. Still, there was no mistaking the bloodlust coming from the man in front of-

"Head's up!" He managed to move to the right just in time as a glowing sphere flew over his head and impacted on the man he was facing. And almost immediately after the man was hit, an explosion erupted that originated from the sphere. Thankfully, he had blown back the man just far enough that he wasn't really affected aside from the buffeting winds and the shockwave, still, he felt his feet slide on the floor as the ball of flame from the explosion died down. When it fully dissipated, he looked towards the man… only to see nothing but a scorch mark on where he once stood.

"Wow," He turned his head towards the voice. It was Aoko, and right behind her was Lorelei and the rest of the Executors, he noticed that the Executors immediately began to spread out. "Didn't think it'd be that strong, was hoping it was more controlled."

He turned an incredulous eye towards Aoko. "Wait. That was you?" He asked. He hadn't seen any magecraft from Aoko aside from her use of Time and her multiple clock themed mystic codes. What exactly did she use just now? And it looked… destructive.

Aoko nodded her head at him. He then noticed that her hair had started to take a red hue to it, and her red eyes seemed to grow sharper as she looked behind him. "It wasn't much really, just something I picked up when I was studying to become a magus. Though I'm not really a Magus, but more like a magic-user most of the time. I'm more suited for combat then anything actually." She then grinned at him. "Sorta like you I suppose." Not sort of, she _was_ like him.

"We can discuss both of your similarities later," Lorelei chided hotly. She gave her straight whip a practice swing, and a gust of wind erupted from it. Nodding her head in satisfaction, she turned back towards them both. "Our first priority should be kill-"

"Finding the blue-haired Executor." Aoko interrupted Lorelei before she could continue. Lorelei narrowed her eyes at Aoko dangerously, but Aoko just ignored her, choosing instead to look left and right at the area they were in. He followed her gaze, and noticed that the hall they were in was quite spacious, with two hallways leading to the two different wings of the castle. The wall in front of them was quite large, but as he looked at the wall, he found the decorations… strange.

Swords were adorned on plaques; some had names under them, while others were left blank. The entire wall was filled with the swords on the plaques, with some disturbed by Aoko's earlier display of power. He would have tried to Grasp them, but stopped himself from doing so. He remembered what happened when he Grasped Hector, and how it caused him a headache just from trying to understanding it.

"Well," He began, taking his eyes away from the plaques and back to his teacher and his own student. "Wherever she went, she obviously went past that guard that attacked me." He sighed before he shook his head. "She just took off, leaving her men behind." Took off wasn't even the right word, she had literally left them all in the dust.

"I don't think leaving behind her men was the problem." Aoko pointed out as she nodded her head at the Executors. He saw them begin to split into teams, with one team going towards the East wing, while the other went to the West. The group that walked past them regarded them with confused eyes, before they refocused on what they were doing. "They can take care of themselves. They're Executors, the Church's equivalent to our Enforcers. What we should worry about is whether or not the Executor that took off by herself can handle fighting a Dead Apostle Ancestor candidate by herself. Because unlike these guys," Aoko gestured towards the Executors walking down the halls. "She's alone."

He nodded his head at Aoko. "Well, we should start by getting some ground behind us. You guys go to the west wing, and I'll go to the-"

"Nope." Aoko immediately him down. He stared at her, before he blinked and tilted his head to the side.

"Hah?" He let out. "It'll be faster this-" He immediately shut up as Aoko shot him a dark look.

"You took off without telling us," Aoko began, her voice dangerously low. "You accepted a potentially life threatening deal with Atlas, that you have no intention of keeping by the way, all for the sake of your altruism. We're not letting our eyes off you, no matter how much you want us to. You're my student, and Lorelei is yours. We have a responsibility to seeing you safe."

He blinked at Aoko, surprised that she would chastise him this far in the mission. If she had wanted to, she could have done it in the camp. But it seems she hadn't let out everything yet. He wanted to tell her he could handle himself; that this choice wasn't the wrong one since it would save people's lives; that it was his path to walk. But he couldn't not when Aoko was right as well.

He nodded his head at Aoko, who smirked at him before she walked forward and placed a hand on his shoulder, a surprising show of camaraderie really. "Don't worry, what you thought wasn't wrong. It was just your way of doing it that was wrong. You may have your own path to follow, but your path walks parallel to ours. That's the beauty of having friends."

He thought about what Aoko told him. It… honestly reminded him of Archer. Of how Archer walked his path, and how he went through everything, believing what he did was right. He wasn't wrong, he will never be wrong. The ideal that Archer believed in, and the way he saw it through to the end was not the wrong path… for him.

But… he was different. He had people close to him, he wanted to protect their smiles. As long as they were happy, he would be too. He could extend that feeling to the people around him, mere strangers that had nothing to do with his life. If he wasn't careful, he could turn into Archer. But…

He smiled, before he nodded his head. "Thanks. Aoko." He thanked her. She had practically just told him that she would help him find the right path towards his end goal. Like Saber did, like Rin had promised, like Archer had showed him.

Aoko grinned at him, before she let go of his shoulder and turned around. Facing Lorelei. "So," Aoko began. "Any idea what we should do Miss Barthomeloi? You're the one that has extensive knowledge about Dead Apostles." Wait, she did? He cast a look at Lorelei, who adopted a thinking pose, putting her free hand on her chin and looking down on the ground.

"Hmm," He heard her hum in thought. After a second, she looked up at them both. "Well, we should find the Lord of the castle before night falls. It may not be a full moon tonight, but the moonlight can still give strength to any Apostle." He agreed with that.

"Where should we start?" He asked, walking forward and staring at Lorelei. Lorelei hummed for a moment, before she reached in her pocket and pulled out a… coin?

"Heads we head left, tails we head right." She declared before she threw the coin in the air. He couldn't believe Lorelei of all people would leave this to chance. He watched the coin soar through the air, but as it reached its peak and began its descent, Lorelei suddenly grabbed it and put it back in her pocket without so much as looking at it.

"We head west." She suddenly declared before she began walking to his right. He blinked, before he saw Aoko walk up to Lorelei without saying so much as a word.

"Wait," He began before he started walking and caught up to them both. "Why didn't you let the coin fall?" He thought she was leaving it to chance, but she had decided it almost as soon as the coin started falling. What was the point of the coin toss?

Lorelei turned her head towards him, before she shrugged. "Heads or tails, it doesn't matter. Once the coin starts falling, you'll hope for one or the other." He blinked in confusion, before he heard Aoko chuckle right beside him.

"She meant that regardless of where the coin falls, when it starts falling and you start hoping, that's the decision you should go with." Oh. That… made a surprising amount of sense.

"Anyway," Aoko began again. The familiar at the entrance was more than likely fodder. I have no idea why he would have someone like that guarding the open entrance, but we can expect more of them the deeper we get in the castle. The Executors can deal with them, but don't rely on them clearing a path for us."

He didn't know about that, if the Executors were the equivalent of the Association's Enforcers, then they'll more than likely purge the entire castle. So his worry wasn't about them clearing a path, but of them biting off more than they can chew. He had seen the swords that Aemulo could make, and all of them were excessively dangerous. The latest one having caused pain and…

He stopped himself from thinking about that sword. He pushed the memory of him euthanizing three people. It was one thing to kill in battle, but killing in cold blood? Sure they were suffering, but he couldn't help but feel that he could have done something to help them. Something that would have made them live.

Maybe… maybe somewhere in his Blade Works there was an answer to that question. But… he wasn't Archer. He didn't have complete control of it, heck, he couldn't even manifest it. His Prana reserves weren't exceptionally low, but he still wouldn't have enough in his entire body to actually manifest something as a World. And coupled with his Circuits that had deteriorated from years of stagnation; then manifesting his World onto Gaia would probably fry his soul.

But… that didn't mean he didn't have access to it. His World was full of weapons, all he needed to do was memorize it from inside and out.

He resolved himself to meditate and do a little soul searching when this was all over. His World was full of weapons, but what good were they if he couldn't find them in there? His World was limitless sure, but his mind wasn't. Using parts of his body that weren't there, using memories that weren't there, what good would that do if he ignored the parts that _were_ there, the memories that he _could_ remember?

When this was all over, he needed to know his World even more. Forbidden research be damned, what good was his Reality Marble if he couldn't even understand how it worked?

**Fate: Zero/Night**

**XxX**

"Wait, have we been through here before?" He heard Aoko ask. He looked around his surroundings, carefully scrutinizing the general area. He scrutinized the area, before he turned towards Aoko and shook his head.

"I don't think so." He told the truth. He didn't feel like they had been here before, and he honestly felt that they should keep moving.

Aoko just gave him a blank look, before she turned towards Lorelei. "What about you?" She asked. Lorelei turned her head towards her in response. "What do you think?"

Lorelei placed a hand on her chin. "Well, there's definitely a Bounded Field here." Wait, what? There was? "I didn't notice it before you pointed it out, but what I don't understand is why use such a complex Field for a simple task of making you think you've been here before?"

"That was what I thought too." Aoko agreed. He looked at his teacher with a look of confusion, but Aoko either didn't notice, or ignored it entirely. "It's obviously here to delay us, but if it was, where are the Executor's that had been here before us?"

"An exploit maybe?" Lorelei supplied. He turned towards her, still confused on the entire thing. All he knew was that there was a Bounded Field… that he could detect for some strange reason. "Obviously this Field will be seen through with enough repetition, but if the Executor's managed to get past this area before us. Then there should be an exploit they used."

He frowned. He was lost with what they were saying. So instead of listening to something he didn't understand, he turned towards things he could. He approached the wall, and placed a hand on it. The stone wasn't cold, but the general area made his hands clammy and that in turn made his wet hands feel cold on the stone.

He closed his eyes, tuning out the talk between Aoko and Lorelei, before he muttered his aria that he had been saying everyday for as long as he had practiced Magecraft. "Trace On."

Almost immediately, he began understanding the wall, all the dents, all the small holes that created drafts, all the little points that he could strike and make the wall crumble. To the regular eye, the wall was just that, a stone wall for a castle, but to him, the wall was much more detailed. Which would explain why he found it easily.

"Over here." He gestured for the two women he was with to follow him before he began walking. He didn't look back towards them to find out if they were following, as he could hear their footsteps.

"Where are we going?" Aoko asked him, but he didn't answer. He was too busy looking at the wall. He heard Aoko hum, before she spoke up again. "You know, if you're going to watch paint dry, the wall has to be painted first."

He ignored the tease and closed his eyes again, before he placed a hand on the wall. He focused, and felt something… warm on the spot his hand was in. It also helped that he actually smelled something amiss with the area they were in itself, and if he had to describe the smell, it smelt… metallic, a contrast to the stone wall his hand was placed on.

He turned around and pointed at the spot where his hand had just been on. "I think this is where the source of the Field is coming from." He declared. This had the effect of making Aoko and Lorelei turn towards each other with wide eyes. He frowned, they didn't have to be so obvious if they thought he was wrong, but still, he was pretty sure he-

"You've…" Aoko began as she placed a hand on the spot where his had been just a moment ago. "gotta be kidding me." He felt a little smug at seeing her dumbfounded face.

"I may only be a third-rate hack, but I can sniff out the things wrong in places." Case in point, finding all the sigils for the bloodfort. That was one of the highlights of the Grail War for him, because that was the first time he had actually managed to save a lot of people's lives.

"That's not it." Aoko suddenly spoke up. He turned towards her in confusion, and saw that she her hands were glowing, most likely from her Od frying the source of the Field. "You've just found a Fields source in under a minute. You could make a good Field breaker." He tilted his head in confusion. What was a Field breaker?

Seeing his confusion, Aoko shook her head. "A Field breaker is usually the person people call if they want to get in a place with a particularly difficult Bounded Field. Usually, a Field breaker can take care of an easy Field in less than a week. While the most complex ones taking them at least a year." Oh… was what he did…?

Aoko nodded her head at him. "You've just found the source of the Field in thirty seconds, and we've deactivated it in the next thirty. I won't lie, that is impressive. How did you do it?"

"I've to admit, even my interest is piqued." He turned towards Lorelei. Who was leaning forward and waiting for his answer. "This can prove particularly useful during future excursions against Apostles that were once magi."

He blushed a little at the scrutiny the two women were giving him. It wasn't that he was embarrassed by his use of magecraft, but having two admittedly beautiful women staring at him with their rapt attention, well, it honestly made him weak in the knees. So it was a given that when he answered, it was with a suitably weak voice. "…Structural Grasping."

"What?" Aoko blinked in confusion. She leaned forward towards him. "Sorry, I missed that. Could you repeat it?" He felt that she really didn't hear it, so he sighed and repeated what he said.

"I said I Structurally Grasped the wall." He saw both of their eyes widen in surprise. He scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "Err, is that so surprising?"

"Yes." Lorelei answered. "Usually, when you Grasp something, you find the faults in it as well as the strengths of it. You don't find things etched into a place, unless you go actively looking for it. It takes too much time, and is relatively useless to do."

He frowned at her explanation. But before he could counter, she continued. "Add to the fact that Grasping a wall is an amazing feat. It's composed of hundreds of materials, and unlike a sword, or books, which both have a single thread of history in their making, a wall has multiple. From how the material it was made from formed, to where it was taken from. What you did required a good amount of processing to do, but you managed to do all that in less than a minute and find a magical sigil."

He scratched the back of his head. She made it sound more complicated then it actually was. "It's not that I'm processing everything." He explained. "I'm just looking for the specific part that seems strange. I don't go through the entire history of the thing."

"Yet that's what you've done." Lorelei countered. "Grasping can detect magic if the item your Grasping is magical. But if it's something as mundane as a castle wall, then finding a magical part of it is like finding a needle in a haystack. It's virtually impossible to find magic where it isn't normally found."

He sighed. Really, it wasn't that complicated. "I just looked for something that was wrong with it. It's not that needlessly complicated. Besides, I've been Grasping things ever since I've trained in magecraft. I know what to find, and I just block out the unnecessary information."

Lorelei only shook her head at him. "I have no idea how to react to this. You use nothing but the mere basics in magecraft, and your demeanor suggests that you are nothing but third-rate. But in those basics, you could qualify as a genius, and in your demeanor, you could qualify as a master." Lorelei shook her head again. "It's almost laughable how much you've thought me already that most magi would never think of teaching another."

"And," Aoko spoke up. He turned towards the red-eyed woman. "Your specialization suggests that you would be more a combat type than anything else." Aoko grinned at him. "That means most magi would think of you as someone they would never like to become, but most magi will look at you with envy for being able to do what they can't do."

He sighed. "Let's just…" He wanted to say go, but another sigh escaped his lips. "Never mind." He shook his own head and turned back towards Aoko. "Is the Field gone?" He asked her. Aoko nodded her head at him.

"It should be gone now." Aoko confirmed. "Come on, we should keep walking." Aoko looked down the hall, before she started walking. He followed suit, but before he could catch up to Aoko, Lorelei put a hand on his shoulder.

"Your Tracing." He raised an eyebrow in question, telling Lorelei to ask what she wanted to ask. "It combines Gradation Air and Structural Grasping right?" She asked him.

He thought about it for a second. It wasn't like they were combined, but it did indeed look into an object, from its history to its making, everything was seen with Tracing. But that wasn't all, Tracing didn't just Project, he could also Reinforce or even alter something to make something else.

He shook his head. "It's not as much as a combination as it's more of a… amalgamation? They aren't combined into one spell, but they are part of the same process." He tried to explain as best he could. Lorelei seemed to contemplate his explanation, before she nodded her head and walked past him. He didn't know if she understood what he had said, but he did his best to make her understand at least.

He watched as Aoko turned a corner, but stopped abruptly as she stared down the hall she was about to walk into. Lorelei soon followed, and as she turned, he could make out the deep scowl etched on her face.

"What's wrong?" He asked as he finally caught up to the both of them. He turned towards the hall they were about to enter, and- blood. Blood, blood, blood. Everywhere he looked there was blood.

He scowled, but not at the amount of blood that was dripping from the walls, that was splattered all over the floor and the ceiling, but from where the blood most likely came from.

The bodies of Executors were on the floor, some were leaning into the wall, while some unlucky souls were hung on the ceiling, with their heads forcefully shoved into it, leaving only their dangling bodies to hand and drip blood from the place where their head should be.

But the Executors weren't the only one there; there were also bodies of familiars with pale skin. Some were still alive even, dragging themselves towards the nearest pool of blood before they tried to suck the pools of blood in. The dead ones, the _truly_ dead ones had their heads cut off; some were even spilt in half.

"This doesn't make sense." He turned towards Lorelei, who had been the one to speak up. "Aemulo used to be a Magus. If he had wanted an ambush, his first and best way of doing it would have been in the forest." Lorelei paused as she walked towards one body of an Executor. The Executor was a man with half his head sliced off, and blood was pooling inside of it. "Then there's the Bounded Field that makes you think you're going the right way. If he wanted to, he could have led people towards their death, towards a place where they couldn't escape. But he didn't take that either." Lorelei paused before she stood up and drew her whip. "Instead, he chooses to use his familiars and kill as much as he loses. It doesn't make sense." Lorelei then walked over towards a familiar drinking from a pool of blood, before she struck her whip down and severed the head from the body.

He shook his head at the display, before he walked over towards an Executor's body and kneeled down in front of it. He carefully observed what he could; noting that the Executor's body was still and his eyes were closed. At least he died a painless death, unlike some who were still here.

"Maybe…" Aoko spoke up. He turned towards her, and saw the look of…sadness in her eyes as she stared at the bodies of the Executors. "Maybe he doesn't want to kill _all_ of us." Aoko began. He stood and gave her a confused look.

"Why wouldn't he want to kill all of us?" He asked. "We're going to kill him right? We're trespassing on his territory and actively hunting him down after all."

Aoko only shook her head. "It's not he wouldn't, he just doesn't." Aoko frowned before she stepped towards the Executor he had been looking over. "I think… he wants us to find him."

He frowned. But before he could question, Lorelei spoke up from behind him. "So, it's like that." She spoke cryptically. He turned towards her with questioning eyes, before she shook her head.

"He wants us to find him, but he doesn't want the others to do the same." Lorelei explained before she smirked a little. "He seems to have caught wind that a Sorcerer as well as the vice-director in training is here looking for him." That… still doesn't make sense to him.

"Think about it this way." Aoko spoke from behind him. He looked over towards her, and saw her hardened face. "A Sorcerer or Sorceress is the pinnacle of magic in our time. What better way to prove that you've achieved something as close to magic as beating a Sorcerer or Sorceress with your magecraft with an official close to you?"

He got it now. So, the Apostle wanted Aoko to meet him, before he defeated her to prove his magecraft was better? He will never understand magi and their confidence in their own magecraft. "So all this," he gestured to the dead bodies around them and the blood walls. "Were to clear away the Executors that would get in the way?"

"Yeah, that's probably right." Aoko nodded her head at him. "In any case, we can't do anything for these guys." She began walking down the hall. "Come on, we have to keep moving."

He frowned, before he looked at the multiple bodies scattered around him. Needless deaths if he really thought about it. He felt his stomach churn, and he could feel his anger simmer. But he kept his cool, charging in needlessly wouldn't help these people; the best he could do for these people was to kill the person that had started all of this in the first place. If that person died, then maybe something like this wouldn't repeat.

He began walking forward, but noticed someone right next to him. He turned, and saw that it was Lorelei. "They were only doing their jobs." Was all she said before she began to walk past him.

He knew that her words were meant to calm him, to tell him that he couldn't have done anything about it, that they chose this path for their lives. And in a way, it did, but he still couldn't shake the feeling that something like this… it didn't need to happen.

He cleared his head, before he focused forward. Taking careful steps so as to not step on the bodies, he began to catch up to the two women that were his teacher and his student. Hopefully, by the end of the day, they'd already have taken care of Aemulo and no more lives will be lost.

**XxX**

"This feels…" He muttered as he broke into a cold sweat. He looked up at the door that was in front of them, and he couldn't help but look at it with deep apprehension. Whatever was behind this door… it was trouble.

"Yeah." Aoko nodded her head in agreement with him. "This is most likely where Aemulo is." She then turned towards him. "Are you ready for this? A Dead Apostle is something different from regular people."

He nodded his head at her without really thinking. Different from regular people or not, he had faced literal forces of nature during the Fifth Grail War. One of them possibility the strongest of all heroes in history. If he couldn't handle this, well, he wouldn't be much of a hero.

"Alright," Aoko said hesitantly before she turned towards Lorelei. For a second, she didn't speak, before Aoko shrugged her shoulders and turned back to the door.

Lorelei gave her an amused look. "No 'Are you ready?' for me?" Lorelei asked, to which Aoko only snorted.

"You're a Barthomeloi, since when have you never been ready?" He couldn't help but smile a little at their banter, it helped ease the mood somewhat, and the way the two interacted was… funny to watch and listen to.

Lorelei replied with her own dignified snort. "I wasn't ready when I fought Shirou, and I lost an arm for that."

Aoko only shook her head at the answer. "It's Shirou, we're never ready for what he's about to do."

"Hey!" He couldn't help but shout. Though he wasn't really offended, more like embarrassed at having his pig-headedness laughed at.

Aoko smiled at him, before her eyes turned hard, and her hair flared a deep red. He didn't know if he had said this before, but Aoko was… even more beautiful when her hair was like that. If it wasn't for the aura of power that radiated from her when she got like this, she would have looked like… well, like a goddess if he had to say anything. The way her beauty got when she was like this was almost eternal, there was no other way to describe it.

"Ready?" She turned her head towards him, her eyes asking the same question she had just voiced. He nodded his head, not really embarrassed that he was almost caught staring. She was beautiful yes, but there was someone else he already he had that wouldn't ever be replaced.

Aoko smiled at his confirmation, before she… craned her neck and cracked it. "Let's get started." Wait, what was she-

"Hrah!" With a powerful shout, Aoko kicked the door off its hinges and it literally flew. The door reached the other end of the room in five seconds, before it shattered into a million pieces.

He barely had enough time to register that Aoko had just kicked down a door, before he caught sight of someone that was pinned on the wall with swords sticking into her body.

"Carrie!" He shouted as he ran forward, running past Aoko and Lorelei. He was just about to reach the Executor, but was stopped as a sword suddenly embedded itself right in front of him.

"Ah, more people." He looked to his left, from where the sword came from, and he was met face to face with a man with half his face melted and its liquefied remains dripping on the floor. "Please, do introduce yourselves first. It is bad form to just run inside a person's home and ignoring them. Why, that would make you look like a thief would it not?"

"That implies that the place we're storming has a person to begin with." He heard Lorelei grow out. He was surprised by the animosity in her voice, but otherwise, kept his eyes glued to Aemulo, who was holding a sword in his right hand while carefully caressing it with his left. The way he was holding the sword was like that of a mother with her child, it was honestly disturbing, he had heard of people taking pride in their swords, but never to the extent as to what Aemulo was doing.

"Ah," Aemulo smiled at Lorelei. Though the smile looked more like a half-smirk since half of his face was melting. "The Barthomeloi heir, I'm flattered that you would test your combat prowess by facing me, but I fear that I may be too much for you." Aemulo then narrowed his eye that wasn't melting from his face. "I shall give you a minute to think about running, before I revoke this offer. I suggest you take it up, lest one of your multiple siblings becomes heir in your place."

He took a step back, not out of fear, but as a means to see Carrie from his peripheral vision. He could only make out her unmoving body, but he could see that blood was still flowing, indicating that her heart might still be beating. He winced a little as he saw what kinds of swords had impaled Carrie, it was the same swords that were used on… he squashed the thought, he couldn't think about it. Not out of disrespect, but because he feared he would go mad with guilt for doing something so… cold. It was… almost like Archer's way of doing things.

"And this must be the Sorceress." Aemulo dropped the sword to his side, allowing the end to point to the floor in an angle. "I must admit, of all the wizards that would come for me, you're the last person I thought would go after me. With the director being at the top, and the Kaleidoscope being a close second."

"And why would Zelretch want to go after you?" Aoko snorted in derision. "He may be completely unpredictable, but he won't go after someone that he doesn't have the slightest bit of interest in."

"I suppose." Aemulo shrugged; an act that caused even more liquefied pieces of his face to sludge down towards the floor. "Though I guess out of all the wizards, you're the most troublesome."

It was Aoko's turn to shrug. "Well, I try." He felt a spike of power coming from Aoko, and when he turned his head, he noticed she was channeling prana. The very act causing the air around her to ignite in a blue luminescent glow. "Now, do you have any last words?"

"Yes actually." Aemulo replied without any hint of fear in his voice. He narrowed his eyes, before he caught movement from the corner of his sight. An act that he would have missed if he hadn't stepped back a little. He was moving before Aemulo finished his sentence. "Do you like having your head severed?"

He was in between Aoko and her assailant, who had somehow kept her presence hidden from them as she hid in the shadows. He managed to Trace both Kanshou and Bakuya in time for him to raise both of the swords in an X formation to block the incoming strike that was coming for Aoko.

"Gah!" He felt his legs give out the moment the strike met his swords. The hell was this?! It felt like he was trying to push back an attack from Saber! He was forced on both knees, before he saw Aoko move past him and reach her would be assailant. With a swift jab, Aoko's fist connected with the assailant and sent them flying towards the wall.

He let his arms fall to his sides as he dropped both Kanshou and Bakuya. Never mind having successfully blocked an impossibly strong attack, his arms felt like they were jelly right now. "You okay?" He looked up towards Aoko, who had taken a fighting stance that looked very much like the boxing left paw stance, before he responded with a nod.

"Yeah, just-" He rolled his shoulders, damn. He was lucky nothing broke there. "She hits really hard." He couldn't really say anything else. Whoever this attacker was, she wasn't messing around.

"I… failed." He looked up at the woman who had attacked them. He noticed that she was wearing something reminiscent of the woman that had appeared before them in the forest. And for a brief second, he thought the woman was an Apostle too, simply from the fact her eyes were blood red. But a quick look at her complexion and her unnaturally white hair told him that she was a different entity all together.

"A Homunculus." He heard Lorelei mutter from right next to him. He looked up at her, only to see her take out her whip and narrow her eyes at the white-haired woman. "Another abomination that shouldn't exist."

"Come now Miss Barthomeloi." He craned his neck to stare at Aemulo. Who had been watching the entire thing with a smile on his half melted face. "If everything that isn't human is an abomination, how do you sustain yourself? Do you eat nothing but plants and the like to live?" He turned his eyes back towards Lorelei, who looked like she was about to retort, but thought better of it before she readied her whip.

"Riza," Aemulo called out. He saw the white-haired homunculus turn her head towards the Apostle. "The wizard is mine. I want to see the magic she used to dispel my Forest."

"You've got it wrong pal." Aoko declared. Suddenly, her stance shifted, and the next thing he knew, she was in front of the homunculus known as Riza, her right arm coming for a jab at the homunculus' face. Riza for her part, managed to raise her weapon – a large battleaxe that was taller than the homunculus by two heads with strange red inscriptions etched onto its sides – and block the punch with the side of her axe. Though this still caused a shockwave to rocket around the room and also managed to push Riza back into the wall she had just climbed out of. Aoko then turned around and glared at Aemulo. "I didn't do anything. It was Shirou who took care of your little Forest."

Finally managing to recover somewhat, he stood and turned towards Aemulo. Who had his eyes locked on him, his blood red eyes piercing his own amber ones. "This… child managed to undo my Forest?" Aemulo began, unconvinced of what Aoko stated.

He nodded his head at Aemulo. "I wouldn't say I undid it though." He said truthfully. "It reformed. I never took into account that reverting something 'before it was made' wouldn't apply to something that was never 'made' in the first place."

"Ah," Aemulo nodded his head in understanding. "It seems you hold an artifact that can revert magecraft back to its origins." He didn't confirm what the Apostle had said, but he was scarily close. "A fearsome prospect no doubt, but I guess you learned the hard way that something that 'doesn't exist' cannot be turned back to something that it never was in the first place."

Aemulo then shook his head. "It appears that I have someone that is fundamentally the same as me." Aemulo mused with a smile on his crooked face. "Tell me, do you dabble in Projection magic as well as I do?"

He narrowed his eyes at the question. He didn't need to answer that, but… he somehow felt inclined too. "…Sometimes." That was an understatement. Tracing wasn't that much different from Gradation Air, the only difference being that Tracing actually Projects even the history of the item.

Aemulo gave him a grim smile. "Then you'll agree that Projection is the closest magecraft possible to the First Magic yes?"

He didn't. Projection still used Prana, and to truly create something from nothing, to deny the nothing and actually make something from it, you would have to be able to just… will something to existence. He supposed it was like Projection, only that the First Magic borders on the realms of the gods as one could just… will something into existence.

Projection on the other hand, used prior knowledge to create something, you cannot create something from nothing with Projection. You would need a base, something that you can use. Memories, Prana, even the very base of the item you're Projecting itself is known to you prior to your Projecting.

"No," He finally answered. "Projection isn't anything remotely like the First Magic."

This answer seemed to be funny for the apostle, as he merely chuckled at him. "I cannot fault you for thinking like that. But thought you may think that Projection and the Denial of Nothingness are different, I can assure you that they are almost completely the same." Aemulo then dropped the sword in his hand, before he held out his right hand and muttered something that he couldn't quite catch.

In a flash of light reminiscent of when he Traced something, another sword, similar to that on the floor next to the Apostle. "Tell me, how is this not the First True Magic?"

He narrowed his eyes, before he stared at the sword thoroughly. He Grasped it… before he promptly felt the blood from his face drain.

Though it wasn't out of fear, merely the blood rushed towards his brain as it tried to comprehend what he had just seen. Blade after blade was… coalesced into that single sword, a sword that had killed a man, to a sword that had been used by a killer. Different swords were combined into one, but…

It felt hollow. It felt like… nothing. Not as an insult, but it literally felt like nothing. It didn't… it wasn't there. It was never there, it didn't exist, yet it did. Just… what was going on here?

"You see, my Magecraft dabbles in Projection, for I was born during a time when Projection was much more prominent in this world than any other. Projection for rituals, Projection for weapons. It was a cheap way of making things… but I didn't see it as cheap. I saw something in Projection that others couldn't." Aemulo dropped the sword, before he Projected another one. He dropped that one as well, before another appeared, and for a few seconds, he repeated the process of dropping the sword he Projected before he Projected another one like the one before.

"I saw potential in it, simply because I felt connected to it." Finally, Aemulo stopped. He looked at the floor, where more than twenty identical swords with coalesced memories were lying on top of each other. "You see, my Origin is very much like Projection. Ephemeral, cheap, hollow."

"Bullshit." He turned his head towards Aoko, who had been the one to swear. "There's only one person that has an Origin like that. And I can tell you right now that he's six feet under." Aoko seemed wasn't at all amused by what Aemulo stated. But before she could continue on her tirade, the sound of rubble clearing alerted them that Aoko's attack on the homunculus hadn't been as strong as they thought.

"I shall… take care of… the others." Riza the homunculus stated, but as she started to ready herself. Aemulo's voice stopped her in her tracks.

"Hold Riza. Let me talk to them." He watched as Riza instantly stopped what she was doing and remained on… standby. He frowned, he didn't know much about homunculi in general, but whoever had made this one… was probably one of the best. Having Saber's strength… that was just amazing to think about. Still, he couldn't shake the feeling that this woman looked familiar, like he had seen something or someone similar to her before. He just couldn't quite place who or what.

Before he could continue his scrutinizing however, Aemulo spoke up again. "I've heard of that person." He began, seemingly addressing Aoko. "An Origin that is Empty, quite a powerful Origin if one were to get into the details. But… his and my Origin is fundamentally different."

Aemulo paused as he looked at them. "You see, my Origin is Nothing."

Nothing?

"Impossible." It was Lorelei who rebuked the Apostle. "If your Origin truly is Nothing, then you would simply stop existing." She then readied her whip. "Do not attempt to beguile us with impossible scenarios abomination."

Aemulo chuckled, before he shook his head. "I can guess why you're so skeptical. But I can assure you, my Origin is legitimate. Though, I suppose it is the concept of 'nothing gained' than anything."

"Nothing gained?" He repeated, honestly confused as to what he meant by that. "Wouldn't that be more Stagnation than Nothing?"

Aemulo nodded his head at him. "Yes, at first, I thought that was more likely the case. That my Origin was stagnation. But as I researched more, I realized that it is not. For every time I researched, I would lose a part of myself, yet I am unable to gain anything more than ephemeral knowledge." Aemulo's voice took on a somber tone by the end of that sentence.

"As if to tell me from the start, I learned everything at an alarmingly slow rate. That was why I sought out to become an Apostle after all, to compensate my slow learning curve for endless years of life. But, the moment I was awakened to my Origin, I stopped learning. My research, my future, everything stopped. I could not gain anything more." Aemulo shook his head. "You can imagine how… unsatisfying that is when you're close to being immortal can't you? Living all your years knowing you can never gain anything from it. You are stuck in an endless stagnation that can only end in one way, by losing everything you hold."

"But though my Origin is more a curse than a blessing, it is by no means horrifying." Aemulo paused before he Projected another sword into his hands. "Before I awakened to my Origin, I learned a lot of things. Magecraft that allows me to transfer memories to something Projected. Magecraft that allows me to transfer power to another. All of this was useless before I awakened to my Origin." Aemulo started chucking. "It took awhile, probably twenty or thirty years before my grief was replaced by anger at the World. But when anger took shape, I used all my preexisting knowledge to research into the First True Magic. It was slow going, but I managed to gain a semblance of information about it. The Denial of Nothingness. Such an amazing piece of magic. Something I wish to achieve."

"So you can deny the nothing in yourself I'm guessing." Aoko spoke up. To which, Aemulo shook his head mirthfully.

"No, no my dear Sorceress. I do not want to reach it to deny my Origin. I want to reach it simply because it will allow my research to thrive." Aemulo pointed to the swords on the ground in front of him. "You see these swords, they hold my memories. Everything that I could not gain, those memories are embedded into this sword."

Wait… that was wrong. He had Traced that sword, he had seen almost every last piece of weaponry that was made of it, he never saw Aemulo there at all. In any of those memories. So what…

"You're lying." He pointed out. This caused the Apostle to look at him with a raised eyebrow. "You're not using your memories. You're using false memories."

Aemulo scowled at him. "I do not know what manner of magecraft you hold that allows you to see through my swords child, but I can assure you that these memories are no more fake than Projections."

It was his turn to scowl. "But Projections are fakes." He knew this, that was why he had so much trouble fighting Archer in the first place. He hadn't believed in his Projection, and that caused him to falter and his Projections to weaken. But regardless, no matter how much he believed his Projections were real, they would always be fake.

"No more fake than you believe them to be." Aemulo explained with a hint of irritation in his voice. He watched as the Apostle sighed, most likely as a way to calm himself before he turned back towards them.

"Regardless, it is useless explaining these things to dead men and women." Aemulo took one step forward, and he was on his feet almost immediately. His arms still hurt, and his legs were still shaking, but otherwise, he was good to fight. Though…

He cast another glance towards Carrie, who was still impaled by swords on the wall. He grit his teeth as he watched her continue to bleed, if he didn't do something to stop her from bleeding, she'd die. So…

"I'll get Carrie," He spoke to both Aoko and Lorelei. He wasn't above letting other people fight for him, though it still bothered him somewhat that women were fighting his battles for him. It wasn't that he was sexist, he just felt that he needed to protect them.

Though… with most of the women in his life recently, Saber, Rin, Aoko, Lorelei and Touko… well, it was more likely they would be protecting him more than he did them.

He turned towards Lorelei. "Be careful of that one." He motioned towards the still motionless form of the homunculus Riza. "There were only two people that had strength like her that I know. And they're able to lift a car over their heads without any trouble." Not only a car, he suspected that Saber could actually hold an entire bus over her head, while Berserker… well, the less said about that force of nature the better.

He expected Lorelei to say that he didn't need to worry about her, but the reply he got was different entirely. "What makes you think I shall be fighting the homunculus?" Lorelei narrowed her eyes at him.

"Pfft," He turned his head towards Aoko. "And what makes you think you actually have a chance against an Apostle in the running to become an Ancestor Miss heiress?" Aoko's voice wasn't really taunting, more disbelieving. "Like it or not, I'm the best bet we have in actually killing this vampire. You'll just die the moment you get close to him."

In turn, Lorelei growled. "While I am angered over the fact that you are insinuating that I cannot take care of myself, I am not above working with others towards a common goal." Lorelei took a step forward towards Aemulo. "And like it or not," Lorelei's voice was taunting as she copied Aoko's words. "I'm fighting the abomination."

"Guys," He wasn't about to get into the middle of a fight between Aoko and Lorelei was he? "Stop fighting," Yes, he was. "Carrie is injured and bleeding out. We should plan this more care-"

"Shut up." "Be quiet."

He snapped his mouth shut almost instantly. He scowled, but before he could retort against them both. Aoko pointed out something that made him sheepish. "Someone running headfirst into a room without taking account of his surroundings has no right to plan things involving us."

He opened his mouth to retort, but Lorelei beat him to it. "Not that we're any different from you. But we would have probably seen the homunculus if we had just taken a second to assess the situation instead of running headfirst into it."

"Bygones are bygones." Aoko dismissed with a wave of her hand. "Regardless, we're planning, and the plan is simple. I fight Aemulo, you two take care of the homunculus. Or if Shirou here is too much of a bleeding heart, he can take care of Carrie as you fight the homunculus."

"That's…" What he was going to say. But wisely, he kept his mouth shut. He really didn't want to get into the middle of a fight between these two anymore.

"A good plan, except that I'm fighting the Apostle." Lorelei interjected. He sighed, okay, this was getting ridiculous.

"Look just- move!" He shouted as he dived. Aoko was already moving as he had shouted in alarm, and Lorelei had reacted in time to dodge a rain of swords from embedding themselves into her. He rolled on the ground, before he looked back. Only to see a veritable wall of swords separating him from Aoko, Lorelei and the homunculus.

"While I appreciate a show before dinner." He turned his head to stare at Aemulo. Who was walking towards him with sword in hand. "I'm afraid I have to cut it short and decide what acts you will do from now on."

"Shirou!" He heard Aoko's voice from behind him before he heard a loud crash that sounded like something exploding. He turned his head, only to see that Aoko had managed to punch through the swords and had created an opening. She was about to enter, but hole was suddenly filled with more swords, preventing her from entering lest she get impaled.

"Now don't go doing that." Aemulo's voice was chiding. "These swords are the same as those in the forest. Thankfully for you, your thoughts were to get to this boy instead of killing me. The swords would have killed you if you're thoughts had strayed." Aemulo finished before he turned his red eyes towards him. He narrowed his eyes, before he carefully stood and placed his hands to his sides.

"Now, let us get to know each other a little better." Aemulo said with a small smile before he pointed his sword at him. "Let me test your Projection. I am not above teaching my enemies."

He didn't respond. He only stared at him. He didn't need teaching, he didn't just Project. He Traced something, he Traced its history, its make, its everything. His Projections weren't empty, and in that regard, it was like Aemulo's. But there was a fundamental difference between his own Projections and Aemulo's.

"Trace On." He chanted his aria as he felt two familiar weights appear in his hands. Aemulo regarded him with a calculating eye, no doubt he had heard him say his aria and was no scrutinizing his weapons. He didn't care.

"Quite a beautiful pair of swords you have there." Aemulo commented. He agreed, Kanshou and Bakuya, they were beautiful in the way they were empty. They didn't need to become great to become his best weapons. Though, these swords were more burrowed than his anyway.

But memories were real, the way Archer had used them, the way he had perfected a technique that only they could use, those memories were all real.

And that was the difference between his Projections with Aemulo's. His memories weren't empty, they weren't faked. Even if his swords were faked, all the memories that came from the swords were from him, from his World. He faked being the owner, but he never faked the memories.

"Come," Aemulo smiled at him. "Let me test you." Aemulo stated before he disappeared from his sight. It took him a moment to register that he had just moved from rest to movement so fast that it looked like he disappeared, before he spun around and blocked Aemulo's sword with Kanshou. The result was a spectacular shower of sparks that illuminated the area they were in for a brief second before they disappeared.

"Good," Aemulo commented as he stared down at him. He winced a little as some of Aemulo's melting face hit his skin, but otherwise, he kept his defense up. "It seems your Projections aren't empty. This will be a learning experience for both of us."

He didn't doubt that, but… he also felt that he would need everything he had learned so far to get by with his life. But hey, a vampire wasn't as bad as a Servant right?

…

…

…

At least, that was what he hoped for.

**XxX**

**I am… honestly extremely happy with how this chapter turned out. It's satisfying to me. No doubt about that.**

**Now, on regards with the chapter and its contents, well, if y'all haven't figured it out yet. Riza is… well, she's the alpha of the Leysritt model. Who, like I said in my AN up top, has Servant class strength. Damn, Einzbern homunculi are scary people.**

**We also get an explanation on Aemulo's power and how he makes stuff. Though if you're all confused, I'll try and explain again. Aemulo has the Origin of Nothing, but this is more of 'Nothing gained' now, that would normally be counted as stagnation, but with stagnation, it implies that it loses nothing as well. Aemulo is losing things, case in point, his face as he Projects weapons with false memories. Which brings up the next thing on the list, Aemulo's fake memories. Now, I won't go into the nitty gritty here, but false memories aren't really counted by Gaia as real, simply because they should never exist in the first place. At least, that's what I'm going for. Meaning that Aemulo's swords, which are combinations of countless false memories, aren't counted by Gaia as real, thus, they are Nothing, and they don't exist. That is why Rule Breaker, which 'reverts all magecraft to its previous states' cannot cancel it out, simply because it does not have a 'previous state' to begin with. Of course, we could get all technical and say that its 'previous state' was that of memories, but again, these are false memories. Meaning they don't exist at all. You can argue with me about this, but honestly, I feel that this should suffice for Aemulo's power explanation. Well, at least for now.**

**So… what did you guys think? I'm honestly extremely satisfied with how this chapter turned out. But I want opinions from other people. I'll gladly clarify things that no one understood. Is Aemulo's power overpowered? Does it fit into the Nasuverse? Or did I make something extremely convoluted and unrealistic (at least in the Nasuverse)?**

**That's all for me. I've explained what I have planned for this story, I'm not stopping it, but I am rewriting the earlier chapters.**

**C.O.Y.L out, peace!**


	21. Hollowed Soul

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

**XxX**

"Trace On!" He shouted as he felt the hammer in his head fall. Eight circuits opened and were immediately flooded with prana. Behind him, he felt four blades forming. He didn't even wait for them to finish solidifying before he threw his right hand forward and sent all of them straight at his opponent.

The swords flew, blades aimed at Aemulo, ready to pierce the old vampire. He was unnerved however, by the calm look Aemulo was giving him as the swords came upon him.

A second later, a wall of false swords formed between the swords he Projected and Aemulo. He clucked his tongue. Damn, if his opponent could make a wall of swords like that so casually, he'd be hard-pressed to counter without invoking the Blade Works… which was impossible right now with his current prana capacity.

"I'm disappointed." He felt movement from his right, he didn't think before he rolled forward, his instincts taking over as they saved him from being run through by Aemulo. He watched as the vampire slashed a false sword at his previous position. The act itself causing the air to disperse and give out a small sonic boom, which only meant that he had managed to swing – or at least, the tip managed to swing – faster than the speed of sound.

It was strange. He knew that he shouldn't be able to match that speed, shouldn't be able to fight him. But, his instincts were on par with Aemulo's movement. Even stranger, his body could react at the same speed as his instincts. He didn't know if this was because of fighting both Archer and the King of Heroes, but it was saving his life right now.

"I expected someone of my caliber." Again, he felt movement to his right. He dodged by rolling again. And a second later, another boom sounded. Okay, he was getting predictable now. If he moves again… There!

"Instead, I have someon- guk!" This time, he expected the movement. And this time, he swung to the right with both Kanshou and Bakuya already formed in his hands. Both blades met with his opponent's chest, sending the Apostle staggering back as two furrows were carved into the sides of his chest.

If he was anything like the King of Heroes, or if he just didn't like fighting dirty, he would point out that flaw to his opponent, where he would go behind him and try for his head. As it stood though, he needed all the advantages he could get. He doubted his opponent would make the same mistake twice, but just in case, he shifted his right leg and foot forward slightly to give him a pivot point.

He watched as his opponent's wounds began to heal, but didn't stare for long. "Trace On!" Fifteen circuits this time, and then eight swords. All identical and already flying towards his opponent as they were busy forming.

He hadn't expected his opponent to just leave himself undefended however, and so was unsurprised as he saw another wall of false swords appear to block the swords he had fired.

As soon as his own swords dispersed in blue motes, Aemulo's own wall of false swords clattered to the ground. He then saw Aemulo, standing straight and looking just peachy, his previous wounds already gone as the vampire's innate healing factor erased them from existence.

"As I was saying." Aemulo craned his neck, eliciting a popping sound. He frowned at the casual way he was dealing with him. "I expected something else. Someone that was a student rather than a master."

He raised an eyebrow. "What are you talking about?" He couldn't help but ask. He wasn't a master at anything, let alone magecraft.

In response to his question, Aemulo chuckled. The action causing some parts of his face to seep down onto the ground. He sneered a little. Really, that was just… creepy. "Humility born from ignorance? That is a surprise." Aemulo shook his head, again sending bits of his melting face flying off. "Your Projection skills are at a level that could rival my own. Your Projections, they hold weight. They hold substance. You do not just create them from falsities, you create them using real memories, from real material. I've no idea how you managed that, but I am not far above dissection to figure out." Aemulo then regarded him with a half-smile/half-leer. "Or vivisection, depending on your status."

Right, as far as he was concerned. He wasn't getting vivisected. "Why are you so curious anyway?" Now he was stalling. He didn't have a doubt in his mind that Aoko would be able to clear that wall of false swords separating him from her and Lorelei, but he didn't know how long that would take. If he can just get his opponent to keep talking though, that would help.

"Because child, I am searching for the first True Magic! The Denial of Nothingness! To create something from nothing at all. The penultimate power of a god before omnipresence!" Aemulo looked even more manic now than he had even been before. He grimaced a little at the passionate tone Aemulo had used, he seemed more… zealous about this then he first thought.

"But I digress." Aemulo again shook his head. "I do not wish to become God. I wish for knowledge, for something that will fill this gaping hole in my soul, which yearns to be filled."

Hollow. He had been trying to describe a word that would make sense with Aemulo, and now he knew the perfect one for him. "Hollowness."

Aemulo again smiled at him. "Your branch of Projection might help me fill this void. Might help me find what I'm looking for, the missing link. The key to filling this hollowed soul."

Again, movement. He twisted his body to react, and it was only when he did that he realized that it was a mistake. It had come from his left this time.

A sharp pain erupted on his back, before he felt a foot kicking him and sending him flying forward slightly. He landed on the ground, but he didn't have time to rest as he scrambled on his feet just to narrowly avoid getting impaled on the ground by two swords.

Well, maybe thinking things over in that situation was stupid. He had assumed his opponent would make the same mistake, only for his opponent to take advantage of him.

"You seem accustomed to fighting someone far above your caliber." Aemulo commented as he dodged to the right. Again the vampire was behind him, was he making a showing of just how fast he was compared to him? Or did he just want to end this fast? Either way, this was getting predictable… no, he shouldn't think like this. He was playing with him; that should have been obvious from the start.

Despite himself however, he found himself answering Aemulo. "I've fought beings so far above humans that it's funny how I'm still alive." That was true. After all, if any human had gone against the King of Heroes, magus or not, they would probably end up as a splat on the ground. Or a pincushion, depending on the Golden King's mood.

"Oh?" As he righted himself, he watched as Aemulo tilt his head to the side, regarding him curiously. He saw the only stable eye on Aemulo narrow slightly as it honed into his right hand. He tried to cover it by twisting his hands so that the command seals couldn't be seen, but Aemulo had already noticed. "Ah, the Holy Grail War. I've heard of it, but it never proved interesting to me. Though I must say, you're young for someone who has fought in one."

That surprised him. "If you've heard of it, why aren't you after it?" He questioned. If anything, Aemulo had the biggest reason to want it. A wish to be granted? Why not fill that hollow soul of his? The corrupted Grail trying to kill everything else not withstanding that is.

"You mistake my wish for something else." Aemulo began as he let go of the sword he had in his hand. The sword clattered to the ground, but was replaced a second later by another identical sword. "I wish to be able to fill this void in my heart through creation. I don't wish for it to be filled immediately. A wish is simply a means to an end, and what good is that if the journey is the best part of the wish?"

He hated to say it, but he agreed. A wish is something that should be fulfilled on your own, not something you put up to an omnipresent wish-maker. If it was something monetary, like money, then a wish-maker is what you wanted. But if you wanted to fulfill something, to see something come into reality, you work for it.

That was the reason he never had any want for the Grail. Rin had questioned him then, and he had simply answered he didn't need it. He didn't need it because he wanted to become a hero on his own. Not take a shortcut to it.

"That's something you and me agree on then." He said, though it sounded more ground out than normal.

Aemulo inclined his head at him. "See? Something we have in common. Though I guess it's nonsensical and shallow. But still, it's something we share. I sense it in you, your power, you borrow it. Those swords you create, they come from memories, but they do not come from you. There is too much weight in them, too much credence to be simple swords you copy from your own memory."

He frowned. Readying another copy of Kanshou and Bakuya in his hands.

"Do you not…" Aemulo disappeared from his sight. He whirled around, and faced him once again. Okay, now this was getting ridiculous. He didn't even attack this time. He just moved from point A to B. "…Think it odd? Your power and mine, so vastly different, like night and day, like life and death, are so similar? Your swords, the ones you Project, they come from you, from your innate hollowness. If you were a warrior, those swords would all hold the same weight, the same power and substance. Yet, as I watch them, as I read them, as I Grasp them, they are all vastly different from each other. The only things that you created that have a modicum of similarity are those two swords."

He narrowed his eyes. Was… was his Structural Grasping on the same level as his? No, that was a stupid question. Of course it was. He was never a good magus. It would be simple for a vampire that was once a magus to Grasp something as he did, especially if they were years older than him.

"So you know about my Tracing?" He questioned. Aemulo raised his one eyebrow at him, an act that disgusted him simply because the half of his face that was melting tried to mirror that movement, only for a sludge of it to fall to the ground.

"Tracing? A peculiar word, but I cannot say I disagree with the name." Aemulo hummed in thought. "Nonetheless. Your swords are definitely no mere blacksmith's weapons. They hold weight, a significant amount of it. A clear contrast to mine, where there is nothing but false heaviness and memories."

No. Even if the memories were false, they still had a weight of their own. Those memories were something that couldn't be taken lightly. Doing so would result in his death.

An explosion occurred just outside the circle of false swords Aemulo created. He didn't turn his head towards it, but nonetheless, the explosion had rocked the entire room they were in and caused some chunks of the ceiling to fall through. He noticed that he could actually see parts of the sky in the holes that opened, he would have been happy about that, had it not been for the fact that it was currently cloudy and raining. Water droplets fell from the holes and into the room, causing the battlefield to take another level of danger.

Great, now he had to worry about slipping.

"It seems that Miss Blue is feeling rather restless." For the first time, he noticed that Aemulo's voice sounded a little perturbed. "I would apologize, but a corpse needs no apology." Aemulo finished as he took a ready stance.

He could feel the bloodlust emanating from the vampire, and suppressed a shiver. For the first time since the Blood Fort, he smelled bloodlust. But unlike the Blood Fort, which was spread out over a large area, this one was concentrated. Like a room of fresh blood had been opened and spilled unto him.

Despite his suppressed fear, he couldn't help but reply. "I could say the same to you. You should have been dead years ago."

He steeled himself. Archer had been cold and calculating in his animosity, kicking him down and trying to make him stay down. Gilgamesh had been hot and prideful, trying to match him just to prove he was superior.

Aemulo however, was none of those. The feeling he was getting as he stared at the vampire, as he readied the next set of swords in his head, as he readied for the coming fight. The feeling he got was that of a hunter. Someone that stalks their prey, someone that will strike when his defenses were down.

Someone that will kill him without thinking twice.

"**I Am the Bone of my Sword.**" He recited the beginning of his aria. The world shifted slightly in response to his words, reality bending to give him steel, to give him swords.

The world shifted, and then Aemulo charged.

**Fate: Zero/Night**

**XxX**

"Hold still you little-!" She couldn't even finish her curse as she was blindsided by the homunculus' axe. The blunt shaft of it struck her ribs and sent her careening in the air. A few seconds spent airborne later, and then she impacted on the castle wall. Her breath literally taken away from her as she forcibly coughed up blood.

She clenched her jaw, before she pushed herself off with her feet and towards the white haired homunculi. Damn. That hit was hard as hell; whoever made this homunculus obviously made her a combat type. But still, with that kind of strength, she wondered what kind of enemy it was designed to combat. It friggin' hurt _her_ for Christ's sake!

"Rahh!" She pulled her right arm back, intending to punch the pristine face of the homunculus and cave it in. She was taken by surprise however, as the homunculus ducked under her blow, before she used the butt end of her giant axe to hit her chin, sending her flying high up. Damn it! This was getting ridiculous.

Still, even though its hits stung a little, that didn't mean it could beat her.

She brought her head down, before she gripped her left wrist with her right hand. A faint humming that could only be attributed to her starting her spell sounded. She took a breath, before she shouted, her body still flying away from the ground. "**Crash down!**"

Originally, the aria was three lines longer. But she didn't need that long to cast a spell. She just needed the proper amount of prana, before she shouted a quickened aria to invoke it. It was partly the reason she was so good at fighting. The other reason was well… her spells were mostly destructive and all that. The only thing she could tinker with that _didn't_ blow up in her face was time. But then again…

She watched as an orb of energy rocketed away from her open palm and towards the homunculus. It was far too quick to be dodged, and by the looks of it, the homunculus herself couldn't react in time.

The orb connected, and a brilliant flash of light engulfed her vision, the flash of light was soon followed shortly by a loud bang.

She smirked as she began to fall down on the ground. She landed on her feet, all the while wiping her chin as it still stung a little from that impromptu hit from the homunculus' axe butt. She straightened herself, before she caught sight of the crater where the homunculus was currently lying face down on.

"Your attacks are crude by nature aren't they?" She turned her head, and saw Lorelei walking towards her. Her voice was laced with mild disapproval, while her face showed a bit of disgust in it.

She shrugged her shoulders. "Whatever gets the job done. I'm not what you call a 'good' magus. If anything, I use magecraft like it was an appliance. Convenient when you need it to be." She explained as she rolled her shoulders.

As expected, Lorelei's look turned into one of heavy disapproval. "How one such as you stumbled upon the fifth magic is beyond me."

Again she shrugged. "It's not magic. It's just-" She didn't finish her sentence as she caught sight of movement from her peripheral vision. She turned towards the crater she had made, and saw that pieces of rubble were rising and falling as the homunculus was beginning to stand up, apparently having been buried under rubble.

"Miscalculated… opponent is destructive mage… changing fight style…" It spoke robotically as it began to straighten itself. She watched as it began to raise its axe into a fighting form.

She sighed. Well, she should have expected this. Whatever it was this thing was designed to fight, it was obvious that it should be able to take hits like that as well. Still though, she was a simple woman in regards to fighting. If it doesn't fall after getting hit, hit it again. It was a simple belief, and if she were honest with herself, sounded completely idiotic. But hey, if it worked…

She watched as the homunculus began to run at her, her giant axe mid swing already. She narrowed her eyes in suspicion; surely it knew it was telegraphing its moves.

But then, it did something completely off kilter. It was perhaps still a few feet away from her, but instead of closing the distance, it instead, swung its axe preemptively, letting go as she sent it flying towards her at an obscene rate.

She cursed as she readied herself to catch it. She did, but not without having skid a few feet on the ground back towards the wall where she had landed on awhile ago. She was surprised her feet struck the wall, that throw was insanely st-

"Look out!" Lorelei shouted at her. She looked up and cursed as she saw the homunculus' foot coming for her face. She ducked forward, and felt the foot sail right above the back of her head. She heard the foot impact the wall, and then heard the wall cave in.

She didn't give it time to recover from its strike however. Holding both ends of the axe, she used the pole of it to send the homunculus up and away from her, before she chucked its own axe towards its still airborne form.

The homunculus however, managed to right itself in the air, before it grabbed the haft of the axe just in time. She watched as the homunculus landed on the ground with as much grace it could muster, before it coiled its legs and then leapt towards her.

The speed it had was definitely something that shouldn't even be possible without the best materials to make its composition, but still… it was too slow for her.

As the homunculus got within striking range of her, she watched as it swung its axe sideward in an attempt to slice her in two. She ducked under the blow, before she channeled prana onto her left fist, coating it in blue translucent energy.

"**Crash.**" She spoke swiftly and without remorse. She threw her left arm upwards, and gave a straight uppercut under the homunculi's chin.

For a split second, the homunculi continued forward, the momentum from her punch having not taken over yet. After that split second however, the impact made itself known with a brief explosion.

It wasn't a big deal, well, to her anyway. She had just punched so hard that she had ignited the hydrogen in the air. However, to her opponent, that would be something akin to having been hit by a missile at point blank range.

The explosion dispersed, and with its dispersion came the homunculi's sudden launch away from her. To be honest, she was surprised it was still whole. Far be it for her to use her full power, but that punch had enough power to topple a house, probably turn a person inside out as well. But this homunculus… whatever it was designed to fight would probably be in the levels of the Apostles Ancestors and Werewolves.

She flicked her hand to disperse the prana still attached to it. She watched as the homunculus soared through the air, before it collided with the ceiling and was sent straight through it. She winced a little, okay, maybe that was a little _too_ powerful. But hey, might makes right in this case.

"That was a wholly unnecessary display of power." She turned her head to stare at Lorelei, who was giving her another disapproving look. She ignored it. Yeah, maybe it was. But still…

"That was one of my more tame moves." She defended herself. And really it was. Igniting the hydrogen in the air was child's play to her. Now, _fusing_ the hydrogen and then punching all those fused molecules at an opponent, now that was overkill.

Lorelei stared at her for a second, before she shook her head. "Regardless," Lorelei gestured towards the ceiling where her opponent had exited. "I doubt that abomination will return. In all likelihood, you've punched her straight out of the castle. Now, if you can only do that with that wall of swords." She could detect that hint of sarcasm in the future vice-director's voice.

"I was getting to that." She ground out. Trying her damn best to stop herself from snarking off at Lorelei. She walked over towards the wall of swords, before she frowned and placed a hand on one of the blades that made the wall.

"It's not attacking?" She spoke out loud. She had thought-

"Perhaps it's because of your intentions." Lorelei supplied from behind her. She turned towards her, and gave her a questioning look. What did she mean by that?

Lorelei gave her a blank look, before she sighed. She frowned at the act; that was insulting. "Do you not remember? Aemulo had stated that if your intentions are to harm him, then the swords will turn on you should you ever try and destroy them."

She flushed a little. "O-of course not!" She lied. She totally forgot. "I-I uhh… I just- I got nothing." She gave up trying to think of an excuse and saving face. Yeah, she was never one for excuses and deception. That was more Touko's skill.

"Of course you don't." Lorelei said with a sigh. She ground her teeth, but knew that Lorelei was more disappointed and didn't mean anything by it… probably.

"I suppose if you just have the intention of helping Shirou, these swords will probably crumble if you destroy them then and there." Lorelei frowned. "But I am hesitant to say even that. Aemulo is – was – a magus. If anything, I doubt that he will leave such an obvious hole in his defense… that is, unless he believes he can kill anyone that comes his way. Even a Sorceress."

She turned back to the wall, before she readied her right arm to punch a hole straight through it. She felt power coalesce into her right arm, she then threw it forward.

An explosion, and then suddenly smoke all around them. She receded her hand and shook it off. Let it be known that she could destroy anything she wanted to, given enough prana and time.

"Right," She turned towards Lorelei. "Are you coming?" It was a weird question. Given Lorelei's nature, then it was sure she would-

"Of course." Lorelei answered quickly before she jumped through the hole she had formed, leaving her there to stare as her figure disappeared through the smoke. She shook her head, at least have the decency to wait for her to go first damn it.

She stepped through, and walked through the smoke cloud that had formed behind the hole she made. She saw Lorelei's figure just a few feet in front of her, and quickened her pace. A few steps later, and she was next to her and out of the smoke cloud.

What she saw as she stepped out of the cloud however, was Shirou and Aemulo fighting… or more like Shirou and Aemulo both trying to outdo each other with their Projections.

Aemulo was throwing swords away haphazardly. Projecting one, slashing with it, before discarding it by throwing it to the floor before he Projected another one. It was predictable with the way he was moving and attacking, and even Shirou knew what Aemulo was doing. From the amount of scattered swords on the ground around the two combatants, she already knew that they had been exchanging blows for awhile. The problem was, he was moving around at speeds that should be impossible to follow for a human. When Aemulo landed on one side, he'd kick up a dust cloud, before he jumped away _as_ the dust cloud was forming.

But whilst Aemulo discarded his swords with reckless abandon, Shirou held onto his for as long as he could. The black and white twin Chinese swords he had seen him use from time to time were in his hands, looking a little worse for wear, cracks and pieces of both swords were missing, He watched as Shirou blocked a strike from Aemulo, causing his already degrading swords to chip some more. But as Aemulo dropped his sword and Projected another one, Shirou's own glowed white for a split second. The white glow dispersed as quickly as it arrived, before she saw the newly fixed state of both swords. The swords had fixed themselves just in time for Shirou to block another strike from Aemulo.

"I feel like I'm watching two child magi playing around." Lorelei commented, though there was a hint of respect in her tone, a clear contradiction to her words.

"Then why do you sound like you're being respectful?" She questioned as she watched another set of sparks fly as both Shirou and Aemulo exchanged blows. She saw Shirou wince at the heaviness of the blow, before Aemulo pushed himself forward and tried to take advantage of Shirou's slight misstep by Projecting another sword in his offhand and swinging it as fast as he could.

"Because of the way they're using their magecraft." Lorelei finished just as Aemulo's offhanded sword struck. She had already determined that Shirou could block that, so wasn't surprised to see him manage to stop the attack before it pierced him. But still… it was abnormal. And judging from Lorelei's tone and the way she was watching, she knew it too.

"One has to wonder however," Lorelei commented, right before Aemulo jumped over Shirou and tried to take him from behind. She could see everything they were doing from the little hand gestures to the way they moved slightly from left to right just in time to avoid an attack from their opponent. She could see this, because she was adept at fighting, adept at killing and destroying things that no normal human should be able to keep up with. "How Shirou manages to keep up with an Apostle Ancestor candidate."

She could see everything, but the same couldn't be said about Lorelei. The air pressure around both fighters was changing from the way they moved, the way they fought. Aemulo's strikes arrived a touch slower than the sparks that flew from their swords meeting, but also a tad faster then the sound the meeting of both swords created.

Faster than sound. That was the pace Aemulo was taking the fight from his repeated strikes against Shirou.

Any normal human would have succumbed after the first blow, no normal human, magus or otherwise, could hope to go faster than the speed of sound without training their body. Add to the fact that Aemulo's strikes could rival hers, then one would wonder if Shirou could keep it up. Shirou however, was doing exactly that. His defenses were raised _just_ before Aemulo's strikes came, and he managed the strength by hitting at _just_ the right place to deflect any excess strength from Aemulo. His Projections occurred _faster_ than Aemulo's when he was Re-imaging his own swords, and his reflexes reacted _faster_ that that.

The battle was quick, it was brutal, and it was something that Lorelei probably had trouble seeing altogether.

"I can see them." Lorelei spoke up suddenly. "_Barely_. But… the way the air around them shifts, it is obvious this isn't something I can throw myself into without being thoroughly injured." She could sense the bitterness and the grim respect Lorelei had in her tone.

She sighed, before she placed a hand on the Barthomeloi scion. "Don't worry." She had no idea why she was going to comfort her, but hell, they were allies, so that had to count for something. "You're almost there. I've no doubt that in a few more years; you'll be a step farther than most Apostle Ancestors." And what she said was true as well. Lorelei was a genius, a genius in a genius family even. Give her a few more years to mature, and she'd no doubt be as strong, if not stronger, than most Apostle Ancestors and their ilk.

She was about to say something else, but then a thought occurred to her. She turned towards Lorelei, and gave her another questioning look. "By the way… what happened to that Executor?" She mentally cursed herself for forgetting something like that. She was the whole reason they were fighting mismatched opponents in the first place.

"She's…" Lorelei's voice was hesitant. "She's fine." Lorelei finished softly.

She raised an eyebrow in question. "What do you mean by that?"

Lorelei shook her head at her. "She won't die, if that's what you're asking. But currently, she's… recovering." Again she had no idea what Lorelei was saying, but before she could rebuke the Barthomeloi heiress for being cryptic, footsteps were heard approaching fast from behind them.

She immediately spun, fist raised as she channeled prana into her left arm. She caught sight of who was approaching, and all hostility from her died down. She was… surprised to say the least.

"How the hell are you still walking around?" She questioned as Carrie, the Executor that had been pinned to the wall with swords not even an hour ago, slowed to a stop right behind both her and Lorelei. She noted that her clothes – the Executor robes – had small patches ripped here and there from the previous swords that were imbedded before, showing unblemished skin. "No wait, scratch that. How the hell don't you have any wounds on you?" Heck, there was even some spots in her robes that had blood that still hadn't dried yet. Even the polished sheen of her armor piece had some flecks of blood on it.

Carrie finally stopped right before her, but her eyes were focused on the fighting occurring right in front of them. "Does it matter?" Carrie asked, her voice laced with sarcasm.

It didn't, but… bah whatever. "Don't think about interrupting yet." She told Carrie. Carrie turned to her and gave her a raised eyebrow in question.

"And why not?" Carrie asked her. She just shrugged her shoulders and turned back to the fighting.

"'Cause right now, Shirou's losing." She smirked a little. She had channeled her inner Alice for a second there.

Carrie stared at her with disbelieving eyes. "Isn't that a good enough reason to interfere?" Carrie made a move to go past her, but she grabbed Carrie's arm right before she could jump forward.

"Nope." She shook her head as Carrie turned back towards her. "Whatever it is Shirou's doing, it's keeping him alive at this point. You interrupt that flow, you risk getting him killed. There's a reason a lot of people die during war time. Most of those reasons involve soldiers getting stabbed because they got distracted by someone jumping at their opponent." She then thought for a second, before she tacked on something else. "Besides, Shirou seems adept at winning during losing situations."

"…" Carrie just stared at her as if she was stupid or something, and to be honest, her reasoning… really was stupid. "That logic involves fighting an entire army, not just one abomination."

"That 'abomination'," She used air quotes. "_Is_ an entire army. He also potentially has the arsenal as well. So you tell me. Is it a good idea to go in there right now? What with two armies literally fighting against each other?"

Carrie just stared at her in silence. A few seconds passed, with nothing but the clash of steel resounding as Shirou and Aemulo fought. Finally, Carrie sighed and inclined her head. "You have a point." She amended, although her voice sounded like she only _begrudgingly_ accepted that she was right.

She then heard a soft "Humph." She turned towards Lorelei, who was shaking her head as she watched the fight. "Shirou is far from an army."

She nodded her head. "Yeah… but he can sure as hell supply for one." She grinned as she stared at Lorelei, who was now staring at her with narrowed eyes.

"You know something." It wasn't a question, it was a fact. A fact that Lorelei was stating.

She just faced back towards the fighting, a more than stupid grin on her face.

**XxX**

This was getting ridiculous. He ducked under another strike coming for his head, before raising Kanshou upwards to try for an uppercut. He just barely grazed Aemulo's chin, before the Apostle disappeared from his sight and he was forced to stand up to react in time for another coming from his back.

Again he ducked, dodging another blow for his head, but this time, he had overcompensated and was now tittering on the edge of slipping, the wet floor having made his sneakers wet and slippery. It was a ridiculous mistake, a fatal one even. But still, his opponent had opted to get in front of him, and try for his head again. He raised Bakuya just in time to catch the brunt of the strike, before he winced under the strength. He took a step forward for leverage, before he threw all his weight to the side, allowing Aemulo's blade to pass by him, barely grazing his sides. He then took off, trying to gain as much distance as he could from Aemulo.

He stopped right by the side of the wall, the regular stone wall that formed the castle. He turned his back to it before he let out a large breath. Ideally, fighting with your back on the wall wasn't the best choice of a battlefield. But with Aemulo being almost as fast as most of the Servants during the Fifth Grail War, he needed some kind of defense to defend his back. He didn't want a repeat of Archer slashing his back when it was undefended.

Still, he felt his right humerus bone creak as he moved his right arm. He shouldn't have blocked that strike. He had given up blocking at one point, and had thrown all he had to just basically dodging whatever Aemulo threw at him. The reason was simple, his body couldn't take the pressure. Against Gilgamesh, he had struck before his opponent could, against Archer, he matched him technique for technique. But against Aemulo? He couldn't do that. He had no technique to counter what he threw, he couldn't call on his swords as fast as he could outside the Reality Marble, and he could only barely react as fast as he could to avoid getting his skull split open.

He felt a brief wind pass over him, before he weaved his head to the left, just in time to avoid getting his head impaled by Aemulo's fake blade. He threw his body to the left again as another sword appeared in Aemulo's hand before the Apostle tried to impale him again.

He cursed silently, he had made another mistake. Aemulo's swords didn't disperse after they were made. They stuck there, allowing Aemulo to shape the battlefield to his will.

He was running out of room, he couldn't keep dodging these blades with his back against the wall, he was running out of wall! He needed to think, what could he-

An idea popped into his head. Not a good one, but still an idea.

His body started shifting, the gears began turning, and his world began responding. "**Steel is my body, and Fire is my blood.**" The second part of his ten-count aria, in English, like Archer's. Both Kanshou's and Bakuya's images reformed, and both blades in his hands strengthened in conjunction to their images reforming.

This time, when Aemulo's swords came for him, he didn't dodge, he didn't block. He took a step forward, towards the incoming blade, towards Aemulo, raising Kanshou upwards as he did so.

A loud metallic clang resounded, reminiscent to that of swords clashing. He felt his entire body resonate from the vibrations of blocking a strike like that with just his body, but it wasn't anything he couldn't recover from. Aemulo staggered back, surprised at the sudden _steel_ in his body. This second opening was all he needed.

Kanshou flashed downwards like a streak of black lightning, carving a large furrow in between Aemulo's shoulder and his torso. It wasn't enough to properly remove his arm from his body, but it was enough for Aemulo to take a step back in surprise.

He didn't stop there; he took a step forward again, this time, Bakuya raised in another flash of light, catching Aemulo's torso and giving the Apostle a gash that didn't bleed.

Another step, and he managed to slice his jugular. Another, cutting the tendons in his elbow that made his hands respond to his brain's signals. Another, and then Aemulo was on his knees, the back of his knees cut, forcing the old Apostle on the ground.

By pure skill alone, he should have won. Aemulo's attempts to kill him left him wide open and easily predictable. He had strength, but no power. Speed but no agility. Intelligence but no cunning. Aemulo would beat him by pure raw stats no questions asked. But the thing was, he's done that before. He knew how to fight against people like that, against _monsters_ like that. It was the reason he had managed to force Aemulo to his knees, injured him so greatly that now he was at his mercy at this split-second.

But in terms of statistics… he just couldn't match him.

He swung down with both Kanshou and Bakuya, intent on executing the Apostle right then and there. But both blades met nothing but air as Aemulo shimmered into nonexistence from his sight. An afterimage, a deci-second illusion. That was all it took for him to suddenly lurch sideward, before the sound of crunching steel inside his body echoed around the makeshift arena.

He flew, head over heels he tumbled. His back met the wall of fake blades, and he was forced to expel all the air in his lungs, the air leaving his mouth with a heavy heave.

He pushed himself off the ground, well, he tried to push himself off the ground. His entire body had been shaken, and now he was trembling, not from fear, but from his sword/body resonating from the vibrations it was still giving off. Causing his teeth to chatter uncontrollably, and making it very disorientating for his sight. It was only then, after he was trying to control his shaking body, did he notice he had dropped both Kanshou and Bakuya after the hit from Aemulo.

He looked up, his sight now returning to normal and his body having released most of the vibrations in the air, and saw Aemulo picking up Kanshou from the ground. "Interesting." The apostle muttered as he examined every inch of the blade. The vampire took an experimental swing with it, before he grit his teeth and forced the blade and its partner to disappear. Even if it wasn't with him, it was still tethered to him, to his Blade Works. Nothing could possibly remove that… hopefully.

"Ah," Aemulo uttered almost elegantly as Kanshou disappeared into blue motes of light. "A shame. I was merely curious about that weapon of yours. It seems to bear significant weight for something a Projected. But then again…" Aemulo trailed as he Projected another blade in his hands. "It wasn't normally Projected now was it?"

He clenched his jaw, making his teeth clack together audibly, before he steadied himself and focused. "Trace On!" Another set, but this time, he threw them.

One flew high and the other flew low, both angled in a way that they would curve towards Aemulo. The memories of how to use this technique flooded his mind. He remembered, he knew how, but he also Altered.

Aemulo readied to defend himself, looking over both blades coming at him from his sides. But before he could do anything, before the blades could meet dead center, he Traced another pair.

He ran forward. "Trace On!" Two black blades were now in his hands, the partner swords of the two white ones he threw. This wasn't the original technique, this wasn't Archer's version. This was his Altered version.

The two spinning white blades that were about to meet Aemulo suddenly veered off-course, back towards him. Surprising the Apostle at the sudden turn. He kept running forward, towards Aemulo, towards the white blades that were now coming straight at him.

As the white blades approached, he threw both Kanshous in his hands upwards in an underhand throw, sending both blades spinning over Aemulo's head. The white blades veered right past him, before they followed the black ones that were thrown upwards.

He clenched his jaw as he was in striking distance of the Apostle. He saw the Apostle reach forward, a blade forming in his hand. He was faster. "Trace On!" Another set of white blades, both appearing in his hands. He used the first one to deflect the still forming blade in Aemulo's hand, before using the second in his right to thrust forward and into Aemulo's chest.

Dead center. The Bakuya in his right hand struck dead center into Aemulo's chest, making the Apostle stagger back in pain. It wasn't enough. His opponent wouldn't die from that, his wounds will heal.

Sending a pulse of Prana into the Bakuya in Aemulo's chest, he overloaded it, turning it into a weak Broken Phantasm. The blade exploded, still in Aemulo's chest, sending chunks of flesh and bone flying outwards. He wasn't done yet. The Bakuya in his left hand flashed forward, already Broken, already forming wings of steel. He aimed for the now exposed heart, right between the ribcage, and struck. Blood that shouldn't be there spurt out and covered his face and body.

He backed off as Aemulo suddenly staggered forward as if struck. He knew why, the black blades had come for their partner, the one in Aemulo's chest. Once and twice, Aemulo lurched forward as two blades met his exposed back. Aemulo took another two steps forward as the last two blades, the ones he first threw, caught up with both Kanshous.

It was a perfect technique, designed to prevent any sort of defense and leave your opponent wide open. It was a sure kill move, a technique that was supposed to win, supposed to finish the opponent.

But it wasn't, not yet. His opponent wouldn't die from having his chest exploded and his heart and back pierced. His opponent didn't even have a beating heart anymore. His opponent would heal in time, and if he didn't act now, he would most likely be on the receiving end of something worse that his opponent could dole out.

So he searched his World. The Blade Works was a world that had an infinite number of swords, that created and stored them into his soul. So he would find one, a sword that can defeat something that can heal even when their heart is pierced. He would find one, he _will_ find one.

He did find it, but it was too late. Damn statistics.

His vision blackened as he felt a strong blow to the side of his head. He tried to focus, but could only see a silhouette of who he could only assume to be Aemulo in front of him, everything else was blurry as the blow sent him flying to the side. He had already lost count the number of times this had happened.

Again, he rolled on the ground, the rolling dispersing some of the force behind Aemulo's… strike? Slash? Whatever it was. And again, he found himself flat on his back as he stared up towards the ceiling, the only difference this time was that he was under a hole, under the clouds that was pouring rain down onto him and the battlefield littered with fake swords.

He tried to stand, but a boot landed on his chest, sending him back down on the wet stone floor with a thump. He groaned in pain, okay, his body may have been made of swords, and it may have been repairing some of the damage that had been caused to it, but damn it hurt like hell when hit with something blunt.

He looked upwards, and saw the tip of a blade right in between his eyes, he looked past the tip, and saw Aemulo, face still half-melting, but panting considerably. His wounds were already repairing themselves – no – they were already becoming the way they were before they were wounded in the first place.

"You were much harder to beat then I first thought." Aemulo commented, flecks of his face falling right next to him, and some bits of it splashing onto his face. He suppressed the urge to shudder in disgust, as the slightest movement could push the sword into his brain and onto the ground. "Still, in the end, you're no match for me."

A thought and his mouth moved on his own. "Well, I-" He didn't get to finish his words as Aemulo pressed down onto his chest with his boot, putting more pressure onto his chest and making it even harder to breath.

"I've no time for games." Aemulo said, his eye for once deadly serious. There was no more apathy in his eyes, like a hunter hunting its prey for food would have, no, now his eyes were filled with so much malice and annoyance that it was almost choking. Gilgamesh had hot white fury to power his maddened malevolence, and even Archer had shown some semblance of that as well. Aemulo however, showed nothing but cold contempt as the Apostle stared down at him.

It scared him.

It scared him to the core. But scared or not… "Don't mess with me!" He shouted as he raised his hand and deflected the sword in his face to the side, before he Traced another pair of the black and white Chinese swords he was so accustomed to and swiped it at Aemulo.

The apostle leaned back to avoid the incoming blades, dodging both with sickening ease, before he pushed down with the leg still on his chest and sent him crashing down onto the wet floor again. He felt something embed itself onto his chest, the sick squelch of metal grinding upon metal as Aemulo plunged his blade right on his chest.

"Guah!" Was all he could manage to say as the blade exited his back and hit the stone floor beneath him. His eyes closed tightly as his mind registered the pain and agony he was feeling. But through the pain, through the agony, he could feel his body begin to repair the damage, he didn't know how he knew this, but he knew that his body was trying to reconstruct himself. Trying to make it so that he wouldn't die.

It was a futile effort. The blade was still there, it needed to be pulled out of him for it to heal properly.

"Pity." Through the pain he was feeling, he managed to hear Aemulo's voice. He cracked open one eye and stared up at the melting face of the Apostle. "Your techniques and Projection thaumaturgy is definitely something I haven't seen before. You wield blades as if they were made from legends themselves. I would have liked to talk to you about it in earnest."

He saw the look Aemulo was giving him, one of pity and disappointment. Normal people would have felt indignant about that, that your killer was giving you a look that said they never wanted to kill you. But to him, that look meant something else.

That look reminded him of the way Archer would look at him. Of how disappointed he was, of how pitiful he must have looked to the Servant. There was no anger when he fought him, sure, there may have been at first. But in the end, his anger wasn't what fueled him to keep going during that battle. It was his defiance.

With shaking hands, he gripped the false blade that was still embedded onto his chest. His eyes closed tightly as each small move from his body caused him agonizing pain. Each shift of his muscles and bones caused the blades in his body to creak against each other. It may have been a body made of swords, but that only meant that his body would hurt and maim and kill.

Through the pain, he pushed through.

He pushed back against the blade, against Aemulo who was leaning onto the blade, against the weight of losing to someone who reminded him so much of _himself!_

"You still have some fight left in you?" Aemulo commented as he managed to push the blade steadily out of his chest. It had pierced his left lung, he didn't need to Structurally Grasp himself to know that his breathing was shortened and was quick. But still he pushed, ignoring the pain, ignoring the sound of metal grinding upon metal.

But even with everything he had pushing against the blade. It still sank onto him as Aemulo pushed down. "Give up," He heard Aemulo taunt him even with his mind and body addled with pain. "You're beaten and battered and now pinned to the ground. What hope do you have of beating me?"

None. He wanted to answer, but his only response was to gurgle in pain. But even then he pushed back, defiant as he tried to stop himself from succumbing.

"Is your soul so broken that you would let yourself die like this?" Aemulo asked, he barely registered the flecks of his face falling on his own as he kept _pushing_. "Your body is broken, your swords, shattered. Why won't you just let yourself die and end the misery? Is your will that strong?"

Mind and body were both broken. He couldn't think straight, he couldn't even regurgitate a word as Aemulo bombarded him with condescending questions. His body was wreaked in pain, the blades trying to reforge something that they simply couldn't – no – more like they could never heal, only repair.

Mind and body had succumbed to pain and near death. But his soul, his will, his spirit, it was unlimited_**.**_

"Rahh!" He pushed, harder than before. His body, the body made of – no – the body that was a blade. It reforged against the falsity that was embedded into it.

If he died, if he succumbed, then all his effort, all his toil, all his works. They wouldn't have mattered.

He could feel Aemulo desperately pushing the false blade into his body, to pin him down. But he countered Aemulo's strength with his own, his sword of a body assimilating the false sword into his own world.

The false memories of the sword embedded into him flooded his mind. Images of the sword cutting down women, children, men, and even animals although real, were false. These false memories were assimilated into one sword, to try and make something hollow into something full, something with substance. It was a success, yet at the same time a failure. It existed with girth, with fullness like that of a real sword. But it was hollow, it held no soul, no sense of what made a sword a sword.

Nonetheless, it assimilated itself into his World, into the _**Unlimited**_ landscape of wills, along countless number of _**Blades,**_ with _**Works**_ unseen and unconceivable to humans.

It assimilated, and then it disappeared. Something that existed, but something that couldn't exist.

He pushed against Aemulo and the false sword in the Apostle's hands. And judging by Aemulo's reaction, of widening eyes and a gasp of air, he probably didn't expect for his fake blade to push back against him as well.

"What is-" Aemulo began, but couldn't finish as he let out a yell and pushed the blade right out of his chest. He didn't waste any time as he Traced another blade in his right hand and wildly swung it at Aemulo's direction.

To his surprise, he heard Aemulo shout in pain, before the Apostle jumped away from him to tend to his wounds. This gave him some much needed room to breath as he sat up and clutched his still impaled chest. He looked down into it, at the fringes of the wound, and saw what looked like blades starting to knit themselves into a makeshift coat of skin and veins for him. It was gruesome to look at, but something that oddly seemed right for him.

He stared at the false blade still embedded into him. With a small grimace, he clutched the hilt before he pulled it off in one swift motion. The metallic sound of metal rubbing against metal sounded again, and to his surprise, he didn't find it uncomfortable anymore. Maybe he was used to it now.

"What did you do to me?!" He looked up, and saw that Aemulo was clutching his right side with a look of pain and confusion etched onto his panicked and melting face.

He looked at Aemulo, and then the scythe-sword in his right hand, before he looked back up and took a ready stance with the scythe-like blade in it, discarding the false blade that Aemulo had stabbed into him a few moments ago. "It's a prototype." That was true. This blade had no name yet. But its effects were still rather prominent, especially to those that would heal unnaturally. For humans and some animals, this blade would only hinder them from fighting. But for monsters and Apostles with healing factors that could only be described as other-worldly. It was a deadly tool. A deadly tool that forces your wounds to heal naturally.

This was the blade he found when he was looking for a way to kill Aemulo just a little while ago. The blade he didn't manage to Trace in time was now in his hands, had struck Aemulo the Dead Apostle, and was now giving him a hell of a ride with something he could never heal.

"Why can't I heal?" Aemulo muttered as he took his hand away from the wound and glared at him, another fake blade appearing in his hands. It didn't matter, the blades wouldn't harm him now, they _couldn't_ harm him now.

"This sword." He waved the prototype lightly in Aemulo's direction. "Forces all wounds to heal naturally. It's supposed to make a fight even when fighting something that heals at an obscene rate. Against you however, it's an unfair advantage for me." He said the last part with calculated coolness. This was it, his trump card against Aemulo. A blade that forces wounds to heal naturally, a Noble Phantasm prototype he had seen Gilgamesh use and he had countered while inside his Blade Works.

It was an unfair advantage for him, partly because it forced his opponent to heal naturally, but largely because his opponent _couldn't _heal naturally. At least, not anymore.

A slight niggling at the back of his mind told him that this sword was named Harpe, and also other names that he couldn't focus on. It didn't matter; he didn't need the name to use its effects, a rarity when Noble Phantasms were being used.

"You can Project a Mystic Code?" Aemulo asked, sounding incredulous with his recent explanation.

He shook his head. "Not a Mystic Code." He corrected. He took a step forward, and readied the scythe-blade. He launched himself forward, Harpe swinging right for Aemulo's head. The metallic sound of metal hitting metal sounded as two swords materialized and blocked the strike from reaching Aemulo's head. He stared straight, towards Aemulo, into his one remaining eye, ignoring the melting face that was now sneering at him. "It's a Noble Phantasm." He finished.

Fighting someone with a weapon he had no idea how to use. This was his third time doing it now. Oh well, at least this time, he couldn't get hurt by his enemy.

Time to put Aemulo on the back foot.

**XxX**

She raised an eyebrow in surprise and wonder, before she turned towards the only person that still had the same grin she sported when she had asked what she knew. "This is what you were talking about?" She couldn't help but add an accusatory tone in her voice.

Aoko only turned towards her and gave her the same grin she had been using. "Yup." The Sorceress nodded her head. Her grin disappeared quickly however, before it turned into a confused stare. "You never noticed?"

She didn't. All this time she had thought that Shirou was Projecting strong Mystic Codes. The projects Shirou had given her weren't ever anything she thought were Noble Phantasms. She had Traced swords that could heat and ignite, that could freeze and harden. But she never thought… but then again, they did hold a certain weight to them when she did manage to Trace them.

But regardless of holding weight or not, the swords she managed to Trace weren't anything of this caliber. A sword that ignited and heated things didn't seem as impressive as a scythe-blade that forces wounds to heal naturally.

She couldn't help but be impressed however, of Shirou's weapon of choice. That blade was more than deadly to a Dead Apostle.

It was then she noticed something. Something she hadn't seen Shirou do at all, something that seemed uncharacteristic for him. "Is he just swinging that thing wildly?" She questioned as Shirou seemed to swing recklessly forward before slipping a bit because of the wet stone floor.

Of all the time she knew Shirou (which admittedly wasn't that long), she had always seen him calculate his moves and attack with caution. Now he was just attacking with reckless abandon, leaving himself open whilst attacking with all his might, channeling raw power into his attacks.

It was dangerous, more than dangerous. It was deadly for him to be attacking like that. But still he showed no intention of stopping, no intention of reverting to a stance. It was like… It was like he-

"He doesn't know how to use that thing." Aoko finished her thoughts. "He's just swinging it like it's some sort of baseball bat."

"He's going to get killed at this rate." She heard Carrie say. She was about to agree with her, but then another peculiar thing happened.

Shirou had overextended, his right side open for Aemulo to strike, to decapitate. But as Aemulo took the shot, took the deadly strike that actually made her tense and _almost_ run forward to help. The blade in Aemulo's hands… bounced away from Shirou with a loud clang.

"What the-?" She began, surprised again at what was happening with Shirou.

Another strike from Aemulo told her that she wasn't seeing things. Aemulo had managed to recover fast enough from the surprise bounce of his blade, and had Projected another one in his off hand, which he had then used to try and stab Shirou. The strike connected with Shirou's chest, but instead of sinking in and actually debilitating him, it had instead bounced off like the previous strike that would have decapitated him.

Just what was going on now?

"He is just full of surprises isn't he?" Aoko commented. She didn't answer that question. The answer was obvious anyway. Still, was that the reason he was fighting with such reckless abandon? Because he somehow figured out a way to get past getting stabbed and sliced by Aemulo's swords?

She shook her head. Shirou was many things, but he wasn't exactly dumb enough to leave himself open because he couldn't get hurt.

**XxX**

In the shadows, she waited.

She had been watching them ever since they had entered the castle. She had done her best to avoid being detected, and surprisingly, it had worked. Even against a Sorceress she had managed to keep her presence concealed.

She grimaced a little as another gash appeared on her master's chest. The wound didn't bleed, but it also didn't heal. The blade that her master's opponent wielded was something troubling for her. She wanted to jump in and fight him with her master. Wanted to just blindside the brown haired teenager (she knew he was a teen. His body was too lithe to be a proper adult's, and his height wasn't that impressive.). Wanted nothing more than to get her master away from that unfavorable fight.

But she was under orders, she wasn't to interfere and was to keep her head down and away from notice. The reason was simple. On her back lay her master's magnum opus. His masterwork, the culmination of all his research into developing something filled; something that contrasted his innate hollowness.

She was under orders that if he should ever fall in battle, she would take the sword and leave without anyone noticing. He didn't want this sword to be discovered, to be known to anyone other than her and him personally.

The sword on her back increased in weight as each blow that her master took on his opponent just bounced right off of him. Blows that could slice a house in two were nothing but mere flicks to his opponent. And slashes that could cut an elephant in half didn't seem to make her master's opponent stagger in the least.

Just what did her master's opponent do to make these blows mean nothing? Just a little while ago he was struggling with wounds inflicted by her master's swords. But now they just didn't faze him.

She shook her head, staring at the fight with intensity and devout loyalty. She would follow her master's orders to the end. Should he fall in battle, she would run with the sword, never to be seen again.

One hand reached behind her, and grabbed the hilt of her master's work. Her instincts were screaming at her to help, and her body was reacting to those instincts. But she held back, forcing her body to keep still, to keep from moving in the shadows.

She managed it, but it was one of the hardest things she had ever done. And she didn't know how long she could keep stopping herself from it again.

**XxX**

**Alright. I've hit the wall. Writers know what I mean, joggers know what I mean, and other creative and physically fit people know what I mean.**

**I'm suffering from a lack of inspiration. And even though I'm on semestral break and have all the time in the world to be pumping out chapters like it's nobodies business. I can't seem to just sit down for an hour and write 1500 words like I used to. Now I **_**barely**_** manage to scrape 500, with 800 on a good day. I don't know if I'm just being lazy again, or I've just exhausted my mental gas, but yeah. Writing a chapter a week for a year can probably do that to you. Again, I've written fifty plus chapters for four different stories in a year. That's more than a chapter per week people. So don't go telling me to hurry the hell up. You try pumping out chapters like that and then get people complaining about you to hurry the hell up with the next chapter. That's a first world problem right there.**

**Anyway. This story is officially one year old. Though I guess that was two months ago. Yeah, probably should have updated this then. Anyway. I haven't forgotten about this one, but running on nothing but mental fumes is tiring for me.**

**Anyway, next chapter is the end for the Aemulo arc. And a slight warning, I may or may not be trying a different way of writing an ending. So... if it's different and you don't like it, sorry about that.**

**Anyway, I'm out. I'll try and get rid of this damn writer's block and come back to my old schedule. But I'm not promising anything, at least not yet. Because aside from my writer's block, I'm also extremely lazy. Just ask my professors.**

**C.O.Y.L out, peace!**

**P.S: Changing my user to Cyronyx in the next few weeks.**


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